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Columbia  (BnttietsEftp 

THE  LIBRARIES 


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A    SKETCH 


LIFE,  CHARACTER,  AND  WRITINGS 


REY.  JAMES  Y.  M'GINNES, 

OF  SHADE  GAP,  PA, 


REV.  D.  L.  HUGHES, 


OF   SPRUCE   CREEK,   PENNSYLVANIA. 


'Gather  up  the  fragments  that  remain,  that  nothing  be  lost." 

John  vi.  12. 


PIIII  ADELPHIA: 

J  0,S  5-P'H;  'M.I  M'l  L  S  0  N, 

.   ■■  .       -  22&  ^aS9T?^lJI»  STR^I^T. 


I3  5'»^i 


v^.'is-'io 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854, 

BY    JOSEPH    M.    WILSON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  Tennsylvania. 


C.    SHERMAN,     PRINTER, 

19  St.  James  Street. 


CONTENTS. 


His  Parentage  and  Boyhood,    . 

His  College  Life,     ..... 

His  Seminary  Life,  .... 

His  Labors  in  the  West,     .... 

His  Settlement  at  Shade  Gap, 

Improvements  : — Parsonage,  New  Church,  Academy, 

MiLNWOOD  Academy,         .... 

His  Last  Sickness  and  Death, 

His  Character,    ..... 


PAGE 

13 
20 
35 
44 
56 
61 
71 
82 
116 


REFLECTIONS. 

I.  The  Advantages  of  a  Pious  Ancestry,  .  154 

II.  The    Importance    of    Children   becoming  early 

FAMILIAR   WITH   A   FORM    OF   SoUND   WORDS,       .  156 

III.  The  Preciousness  of  Revivals  of  Religion,  espe- 

cially IN  Literary  Institutions,  .  .         157 

IV.  The  Ministry  ought  to  be  Supported,  .  160 
V.  Short  Lives  are  often  Eminently  Useful  Lives,        167 

VI.  The  Christian  Glorifies  God  in  his  Death,  as 

well  as  in  his  Life,        ....        169 

Sermon      I.  Life  and  Immortality  (2  Tim.  i.  10),  175 
Sermon    II.  The     Two    Rocks     Contrasted       (Deut. 

xxxii.  31),       ....  196 
Sermon  III.  Halting  between  two  Opinions.  (1  Kings 

xviii.  21),  .  .  .  .221 
Sermon  IV.  Delays  are  Dangerous  (Ps.  xcv.  7),  244 
Sermon  V.  The  Signs  of  the  Times,  and  our  Pecu- 
liar Duties  (Esther  iv.  14),  .  .  266 
Sermon  VI.  The  Christian  Paradox  (2  Cor.  xii.  10),  295 
Address:  The  Spirit  of  the  Covenanters,      .            .  319 


PREFACE. 


Books  live,  when  those  who  WTote  them  are  dead. 
A  good  book,  like  a  true  Christian,  is  of  inestimable 
worth.  Thej  are  both  sentinels  for  truth — for  God. 
They  are  both  "epistles,"  the  one  "living"  the  other 
"written,"  and  each  may  be  read  of  all  men  "to  the 
praise  of  the  glory  of  God's  grace."  The  more, 
therefore,  both  are  multiplied  the  better ;  they  will 
have  not  only  their  day,  but  their  healthful  influence. 

The  following  unpretending  sketch  has  been  pre- 
pared, because  the  author,  with  many  others,  felt 
that  everything  relating  to  one  who  was  so  univer- 
sally beloved,  and  so  useful  in  his  "  day  and  genera- 
tion," ought  not  to  be  lost  to  the  Church  and  the 
world — that  although  comparatively  young  and  un- 
known when  he  died,  his  noble  traits  of  character, 
and  his  labors  in  behalf  both  of  education  and  re- 
ligion, seemed  to  demand  an  extended  notice.  In  the 
attempt,  the  author  has  been  encouraged  at  every 
step  by  the  special  providence  of  God,  and  by  the 
best  wishes  of  not  a  few  in  regard  to  the  enterprise. 

1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

The  following  expressions  alone,  from  a  widowed 
mother,  have  contributed  much  to  nerve  him  for  the 
work,  and  to  sustain  him  under  it  amidst  his  varied 
professional  engagements — "  My  whole  heart  thanks 
you  for  your  kind  proposal  to  rescue  from  oblivion 
those  (to  me)  precious  relics,  from  his  mind  and  pen. 
To  the  children  and  myself,  if  we  are  spared,  such  a 
sketch,  as  you  design  preparing,  will  be  invaluable." 
He  humbly  hopes  that  the  result  will  not  be  in  vain. 
"While  he  is  especially  anxious  to  honor  his  divine 
Master  in  rescuing  from  oblivion  those  "precious 
relics"  of  a  trophy  of  redeeming  grace,  and  desires 
that  many  may  thereby  be  blessed,  he  also  hopes 
that  this  humble  tribute  of  affection  and  esteem  for 
the  deceased  will  prove  a  source  of  gratification  and 
profit  to  his  many  surviving  and  mourning  friends. 

He  designs  it  to  be  a  visible  memento  of  an  en- 
deared son,  brother,  husband,  father,  and  friend. 

As  the  deceased  was  a  universal  favorite,  sharing 
deeply  in  the  admiration  and  afi'ection  of  all  who 
knew^  him,  the  author  has  thought  that  a  somewhat 
minute  detail  of  the  events  of  his  life,  and  especially 
of  his  last  sickness  and  death,  setting  forth  the  power 
of  religion  to  sustain  in  both  life  and  death,  would 
be  generally  acceptable. 

The  deceased  kept  no  diary.  Had  he  done  so,  it 
might  have  been  filled  w^ith  many  stirring  incidents  ; 
and  containing,  as  it  would  have  done,  an  exemplifi- 
cation of  the  inward  as  well  as  the  outward  man,  it 
would  have  been  of  very  great  service  to  his  biogra- 


PREFACE.  Vll 

pher.  But  for  any  such  incidents  of  his  life  and 
character  we  must  look  elsewhere.  And  his  bio- 
grapher would  here  gratefully  acknowledge  his  in- 
debtedness in  the  preparation  of  this  sketch  to  the 
timely  suggestions  of  several  of  his  ministerial 
brethren,  and  to  the  cheerful  assistance  of  the  rela- 
tives and  friends  of  the.  deceased,  especially  to  the 
fertile  memory  and  judicious  remarks  of  his  bereaved 
partner,  and  to  his  room-mate  and  college  companion, 
the  Rev.  S.  C.  M'Cune,  of  Fairfield,  Iowa,  and 
formerly  his  near  neighbor  in  the  ministry  in  Illinois. 
Although  much  may  be  said  in  his  favor,  and  but 
little  against  him,  it  must  not  hence  be  inferred  that 
he  had  no  faults,  for  these  in  some  form  and  to  some 
degree  ever  accompany  depraved  and  prostrated 
human  nature,  even  in  its  best  estate.  But  we  be- 
lieve his  faults  were  few,  and  were  better  known  to 
himself  than  to  others. 

Like  the  devoted  Brainerd,  the  deceased,  perhaps, 
erred  in  his  being  excessive  in  his  labors,  not  propor- 
tioning his  toil  to  his  strength.  The  remark  that 
was  made  about  the  lamented  Hewitson,  who  died  at 
nearly  the  same  early  age,  will  apply  to  him  in  all 
its  force — "Here  is  one  of  those  godly  men,  whose 
holy  fervor  exceeds  the  endurance  of  their  bodily 
frames,  whom  God  permits  to  shorten  their  lives  ap- 
parently by  ardent  desire  and  action,  that  a  half- 
worldly  and  lukewarm  Church  may  get  a  scriptural 
idea  of  zeal  for  God  through  a  living  example,  an 
epistle  known  and  read  of  all  men." 


Vlll  P  E  E  F  A  C  E. 

Some  may  think  that  he  erred  also  in  cherishing 
too  much  of  an  ambitious  spirit,  for  he  always  aimed 
to  be  among  the  first.  But  his  was  a  laudable  desire 
— a  holy  ambition.  The  principle  by  which  he  was 
actuated  did  not  degenerate  into  that  low,  envious, 
and  selfish  ambition  which  characterizes  some,  but  it 
was  a  noble-hearted  impulse  to  action,  and  a  high 
resolve  to  do  his  best  for  God  and  man — to  make  the 
most  of  his  time,  talents,  and  privileges — and  so  to 
answer  best  the  great  end  of  his  being.  His  ambi- 
tion displaying  itself  in  his  untiring  industry  did  not 
consist  in  his  detracting  from  the  merit  of  others,  or 
in  wishing  that  they  might  not  do  well,  but  rather  in 
a  fixed  purpose  to  discharge  faithfully  his  own  duty, 
and,  if  possible,  therein  to  excel ;  while  at  the  same 
time  he  was  among  the  very  first  in  consecrating  all 
his  attainments  and  energies  to  the  honor  of  his  di- 
vine Master.  Like  Paul,  his  language  was — "  God 
forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified 
unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world."  But  his  success 
was  the  occasion,  sometimes,  of  exciting  the  envy  of 
others,  which  he  has  been  heard  to  say,  was  one  of 
his  afflictions.  Though  he  was  well  known  to  many, 
yet,  it  is  believed,  he  was  not  fully  known.  Had  his 
physical  strength  been  equal  to  his  mental  and  moral 
ability,  he  would  have  shone  among  the  foremost  in 
our  ministerial  ranks  ;  he  would  have  stood  high  upon 
the  battlements  of  our  Zion,  while  he  would  have 
cried  aloud  and  spared  not. 


PREFACE.  IX 

The  sermons  published  in  this  volume  are  but  a 
few  out  of  many  that  might  have  been  presented. 
The  great  difficulty  was,  in  making  a  suitable  selec- 
tion out  of  such  a  mass  of  manuscripts  very  illegibly 
written.  In  this  selection,  the  author  may  have 
erred,  but  he  hopes  enough  has  been  done  to  give  a 
correct  idea  of  the  brother's  style  of  thought  and 
expression,  as  also  to  secure  profit  to  the  reader ; 
though  it  must  be  expected  that  much  of  the  interest 
that  attached  to  these  sermons  will  be  lost,  bee  ause 
of  the  absence  of  their  author's  earnest  and  affec- 
tionate manner  of  delivery.  It  is  also  proper  to  re- 
mark that  they  never  received  that  revision,  and 
consequently  not  that  finish  and  polish,  which  they 
would  have  received  from  his  own  hand,  had  he  pre- 
pared them  for  publication. 

Similar  remarks  might  be  made  in  reference  to  his 
able  and  eloquent  address,  delivered  before  the  Philo 
and  Franklin  Literary  Societies  of  Jefi"erson  College, 
immediately  preceding  his  death,  and  which  may  be 
found  at  the  close  of  this  volume. 

The  author  will  only  add,  that  the  publication  of 
the  following  work  has  been  delayed  longer  than  he 
at  first  intended,  and  that  he  is  conscious  of  many 
imperfections  in  the  execution  of  it ;  but  he  ofi'ers  as 
an  apology  for  these,  the  fact  that  it  has  been  pre- 
pared amidst  the  constant  interruptions,  cares,  and 
toils  inseparable  from  the  life  of  a  pastor  in  a  widely 
extended  rural  charge.  He  leaves  the  volume,  how- 
ever, as   it  is,  in   the  hands  of  Him  who   giveth  or 


X  PREFACE. 

withlioldeth  his  blessing  as  seemeth  Him  good  ;  while 
he  requests  the  candid  and  pious  reader  to  overlook 
all  imperfections,  and  to  unite  with  him  in  the  peti- 
tion that  the  volume  may,  by  the  Divine  blessing,  be 
useful  in  the  edification  and  consolation  of  those  who 
read  it.  If  this  petition  be  granted,  his  largest  ex- 
pectations will  be  realized. 

D.  L.  H. 

Stovee's  Place,  Pa.,  April  1,  1854. 


LIFE  OF  THE  REV.  J.  Y.  IPGIMES, 


HIS  PAKENTAGE  AND  BOYHOOD. 

The  Rev.  James  Y.  M'Ginnes,  who  died  at  Shade 
Gap,  Huntingdon  County,  Pennsylvania,  on  Sabbath 
morning,  August  31st,  1851,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  eleventh  of  his  ministry,  was 
born  at  Shippensburg,  Pennsylvania,  December  8th, 
1815.  He  belonged  to  a  pious  household.  He  was 
born  within  the  pale  of  that  covenant  which  is 
"ordered  in  all  things  and  sure,"  whose  promise  is 
*'I  will  be  a  God  to  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee." 
His  father,  George  M'Ginnes,  emigrated  to  this 
country  from  Ireland  with  his  parents — who  were 
Presbyterians — in  1787  ;  and  soon  after  settled  in 
Sherman's  Valley,  now  Perry  County,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Sherman's  Creek,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Brady.  In  February,  1806,  he  was  ordained  a 
ruling  elder  in  that  congregation,  and  he  has  served 
the  church  in  that  capacity  with  fidelity  and  accept- 


14  LIFE     OF     REV.     J.     Y.     m'gINNES. 

ance  ever  since — a  period  of  47  years,  he  being  now 
77  years  of  age. "^^  In  1814  he  removed  to  Shippens- 
burg.  His  former  wife,  ere  this,  having  died  and 
left  one  daughter,  he  was  now  married  again  to  Mrs. 
Catharine  Reynolds,  a  widow  lady  and  a  native  of 
Maryland,  who  also  had  one  daughter  from  her 
former  marriage.  Both  of  these  daughters  are  still 
living,  are  married,  and  have  families.  They  were 
very  dear  to  Brother  M'Ginnes,  and  he  often  spoke 
of  them,  as  having  encouraged  and  cherished  in  him 
that  fondness^  for  books,  which  he  manifested  at  so 
early  an  age. 

James  was  the  oldest  of  five  children — three  sons 
and  two  daughters — all  of  whom  are  now  dead  except 
one  daughter,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  G.  Hill- 
man,  of  Saugerties,  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.  He  was 
early  dedicated  to  God,  by  his  believing  parents,  in 
baptism,  and  they  were  faithful  to  their  covenant 
vows  in  instilling  into  his  youthful  mind  the  principles 
of  our  holy  religion  as  taught  in  the  Bible,  and  as 
ably  set  forth  in  the  standards  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  They  were  equally  careful,  by  holy  ex- 
ample, fervent  prayer,  and  wholesome  discipline,  to 
guard  his  morals,  as  they  were  anxious,  by  timely  in-  • 
struction,  to  advance  his  intellectual  culture. 

^  George  INl'Ginnes,  Esq.,  died  August  Gtli,  1853,  at  Shippens- 
burg,  in  the  78tli  year  of  his  age.  An  interesting  obituary  notice 
of  this  estimable  man  may  be  found  in  the  Presbyterian  of  Au- 
gust 20th,  1853,  or  in  the  Presbyterian  Banner  of  August  27th, 
1858. 


HIS     BOYHOOD.  15 

His  constitution  was  naturally  feeble,  and  he  was 
a  delicate  child  until  he  was  seven  years  old.  After 
that  he  became  more  robust.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
a  wild  and  mischievous  youth ;  like  Bunyan,  he  was 
exceedingly  fond  of  sport  in  his  very  childhood,  and 
this  trait  of  character,  though  much  chastened,  did 
not  leave  him  in  after  years :  but,  in  connexion  with 
this,  he  is  also  described  as  a  boy  of  uncommon 
sprightliness  and  promise,  and  as  one  who  always 
made  rapid  progress  in  his  studies. 

Accordingly,  we  find  even  his  earliest  years  marked 
wdth  success.  When  he  was  but  four  years  old  he 
could  read  almost  any  book  that  came  in  his  way. 
He  was,  too,  immoderately  fond  of  reading ;  his  hat 
was  seldom  found  without  a  book  of  some  kind  in  it. 
He  had  also  an  astonishing  memory.  At  an  exami- 
nation to  which  he  was  taken,  held  by  the  Kev.  Dr. 
Moody,  pastor  of  the  Middle  Spring  Church,  he  re- 
cited when  only  between  four  and  five  years  of  age, 
the  whole  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  and  a  great  part 
of  Willison's  Mother's  Catechism  ;  and  for  recitations 
at  the  Sabbath  School  he  early  committed  to  memory 
large  portions  of  the  New  Testament  which  he  never 
forgot.  Often  has  he  been  heard,  during  the  course 
of  his  ministry,  relating  to  children  his  own  experience 
as  an  incentive  to  their  studying  the  Scriptures  in 
childhood,  telling  them  they  would  never  regret  the 
efi'ort  made  nor  forget  the  truth  acquired. 

He  was  sent  to  school  when  very  young,  and  was 
kept  there  constantly.     This,  perhaps,  was  one  cause 


16  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.     M'GINNES. 

of  his  delicate  state  of  health.  He  said  himself,  he 
was  satisfied  that  his  brain  had  been  too  heavily  taxed, 
and  his  constitution  enfeebled  by  such  close  confine- 
ment in  childhood.  And  he  has  frequently  been 
heard  to  say,  when  speaking  of  his  own  children, 
that  he  greatly  disapproved  of  sending  them  too  con- 
stantly to  school,  or  confining  them  to  their  studies 
closely,  until  they  were  eight  years  of  age. 

When  in  his  seventh  year,  a  small  sum  of  money 
having  been  presented  him,  his  mother  suggested 
something  that  he  might  get  with  it.  He  replied, 
"  papa  provides  food  for  the  body,  I  want  to  get  food 
for  the  mind."  Accordingly,  "  Sanford  and  Merton," 
was  added  to  his  store  of  juvenile  books.  Thus  was 
the  old  proverb  again  verified,  "the  child  is  father 
of  the  man,"  for  here  the  man  was  seen  in  the  boy. 
This  fondness  for  reading,  this  strong  thirst  for 
knowledge,  was  nothing  but  the  soul,  with  which  God 
had  endowed  him,  bursting  forth — a  longing  for  some- 
thing higher  and  nobler.  It  was  ever  with  him  a  power- 
ful mainspring  to  eff"ort.  It  led  to  a  development  of  his 
native  genius,  and  to  his  varied  attainments  of  high 
scholarship,  refined  taste,  and  fervid  eloquence. 

He  had,  from  a  child,  a  desire  to  be  a  minister  of 
the  gospel.  He  would,  sometimes,  mount  a  store-box 
in  the  back  yard  and  preach  to  his  younger  brother 
and  sister ;  and  as  ministers  were  often  entertained 
at  his  father's,  he  was  a  close  observer  of  their  con- 
duct. At  one  time, — as  the  custom  then  was  for  mi- 
nisters to  "  use  a  little  wine,"  and  sometimes  stronger 
drinks,  for  their  "often  infirmities," — when  he  saw  a 


n  I  S    B  0  Y  11  0  0  D.  17 

minister,  who  was  there,  drinking  brandy  very  freely, 
he  thought  to  himself,  he  has  said, — "  Oh,  well,  I 
will  be  a  preacher  some  day,  and  then  I  can  get 
brandy  to  drink  too." 

His  sister,  Mrs.  A.  Hillman,  tells  us,  that  when  he 
was  about  eight  years  of  age,  he  said  to  her  one  day, 
as  they  w^ere  in  the  store  together,  that  he  intended 
to  ^YYlte  a  book  of  hymns  during  his  leisure  moments 
in  the  store,  and  that  she  must  not  tell  any  one  of  it 
until  he  had  finished  it.  He  accordingly  commenced 
the  work,  and  wrote  some  twelve  or  fourteen  hymns, 
and  as  he  finished  each  one  he  read  it  to  his  sister 
and  then  concealed  it  in  his  hiding-place  under  the 
window.  She  does  not  pretend  to  say  how  good  the 
hymns  were,  but  at  the  time  she  thought  them  as  good 
as  any  she  had  ever  read,  and  in  the  simplicity  of 
her  childish  heart  felt  proud  to  think  that  she  had  a 
brother  who  could  make  books.  However,  other 
things  took  his  attention,  and  book-making  was  aban- 
doned ;  but  it  showed  that  spirit  of  enterprise  which 
so  much  characterized  him  in  after  years.  Of  the 
'' hiding-place,"  Mrs.  M'Ginnes  says,  she  has  very 
often  heard  him  speak,  as  it  proved  a  great  conve- 
nience to  him,  often,  in  concealing  books  which  he 
knew  his  father  would  not  suifer  him  to  read. 

He  perused  many  large  volumes  in  his  father's 
library  before  his  father  thought  him  capable  of  un- 
derstanding them.  The  immortal  "Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress," he  read  so  often  that  he  had  very  nearly 
memorized  it.     In  after  years,  he  often  lamented  that 


18  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.   Y.    m'GINNES. 

he  had  not  followed -his  father's  judicious  advice  in 
regard  to  works  of  fiction,  rather  than  to  have  spent 
so  much  time  in  his  youth  in  the  perusal  of  novels, 
that  were  both  ephemeral  and  enervating. 

When  about  thirteen  years  of  age  he  commenced 
the  study  of  the  languages  in  his  native  town ;  but 
after  he  had  been  thus  engaged  for  some  time  he  be- 
came very  tired  of  his  task,  and  then  might  be  seen: 

"The  whining  schoolboy,  with  his  satchel, 
And  shining  morning  face,  creeping  like  snail, 
Unwillingly  to  school." 

This  reluctance  to  prescribed  recitations  deepened, 
until  one  evening  he  brought  home  all  his  books,  and 
told  his  father  he  should  like  to  rest  awhile  from  severe 
study.  "  Well,"  said  his  father,  who  was  a  man  of 
quick  discernment  and  great  decision  of  character, 
^'  you  can  exercise  yourself  in  the  clearing,  picking 
brush."  He  tried  it  for  a  few  days,  but  soon  con- 
cluded it  was  more  pleasant,  if  not  easier,  to  study 
than  to  be  thus  engaged,  and  so  returned  to  school. 
This  is  not  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  upon  record. 
We  are  informed  that  many  years  since,  when  the 
late  Lieutenant-Governor  Phillips,  of  Andover,  Massa- 
chusetts, was  a  student  of  Harvard  College,  owing  to 
some  boyish  freak,  he  left  the  University,  and  went 
home.  His  father  was  a  very  grave  man,  of  sound 
mind,  and  few  words.  He  inquired  into  the  business 
but  deferred  expressing  any  opinion  until  the  next 
day.     At   breakfast  he  said,  speaking  to  his    wife, 


HIS    BOYHOOD.  19 

"  My  dear,  have  you  any  cloth  in  the  house  suitable 
to  make  Sam  a  frock  and  trousers  ?"  She  replied, 
*'Yes."  "Well,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  "follow 
me,  my  son."  Samuel  kept  pace  with  his  father,  and 
as  he  leisurely  walked  near  the  common,  he  at  length 
ventured  to  ask,  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  me, 
father  ?"  "I  am  going  to  bind  you  an  apprentice  to 
that  blacksmith,"  replied  Mr.  Phillips.  "  Take  your 
choice;  return  to  college,  or  you  must  work."  "I 
had  rather  return,"  said  the  son.  He  did  return, 
confessed  his  fault,  was  a  good  scholar,  and  became 
an  excellent  and  useful  citizen.  If  all  parents 
were  like  Messrs.  M'Ginnes  and  Phillips,  the  stu- 
dents at  our  academies  and  colleges  would  "prove 
better  scholars,  or  the  nation  would  have  a  more 
plentiful  supply  of  farmers  and  blacksmiths. 

The  reason  why  our  brother  became  weary  in  his 
studies,  was  not  because  he  had  no  talent  for  the 
study  of  languages  ;  for  he  possessed,  as  we  are  after- 
wards told,  a  surprising  facility  in  the  acquisition  of 
these,  and  mastered  no  less  than  seven  different 
tongues  besides  his  native  one,  the  Spanish,  French, 
German,  Italian,  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  Of 
these  he  spoke  the  French  fluently,  and  gave  instruc- 
tion in  most  of  the  others.  Nor  could  it  have  been 
for  want  of  energy  of  character,  that  he  was  led  at 
the  very  foot  of  the  ladder  to  despair,  as  too  many 
do,  of  ever  reaching  the  top  with  emotions  of  plea- 
sure ;  energy  was  a  distinguishing  trait  in  his  whole 
life,  from  his  youth  up.     But  the  true  reason  of  such 


20  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

weariness,  no  doubt,  was  either  because  his  feeble 
body  and  excited  brain  were  overtaxed  by  the  close 
confinement,  and  the  severe  application  of  the  school- 
room, and  he  longed  to  be  at  liberty  for  a  little  sea- 
son, that  he  might  breathe,  free  of  restraint,  the  pure 
and  invigorating  breezes  of  heaven ;  or,  which  is 
perhaps  the  better  reason,  because  he  was,  as  he  often 
said  himself,  ''  fonder  of  play  than  of  study,  when  he 
was  under  the  care  of  the  Latin  master  of  his  native 
village." 

Being  eminently  social  too  in  his  disposition,  and 
gifted  naturally  with  a  fruitful  fancy,  a  retentive 
memory,  and  an  unusual  activity  of  both  body  and 
mind,  he  was  always  ready  to  entertain  his  compa- 
nions, and  to  take  the  lead  in  all  kinds  of  play,  as  well 
as  in  study. 

Having  made  very  commendable  progress  in  the 
various  branches  taught  in  the  Academy,  with  the 
approbation  of  his  teacher,  the  best  wishes  of  all  his 
companions,  and  the  consent  of  his  beloved  parents, 
he  prepared  to  remove  to  a  higher  seat  of  scholastic 


training. 


HIS  COLLEOE  LIFE. 

In  the  fall  of  1832,  when  about  seventeen  years 
of  age,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  went  to  Jefferson  College,  and 
entered  the  Sophomore  class.  One  of  his  classmates, 
the  Rev.  S.  C.  M'Cune,  who  entered  college  at  the 
same  time  with  him,  and  who  afterwards  became  his 
room-mate,  and  was  for  years  his  most  intimate  friend, 


HIS    COLLEGE    LIFE.  21 

writes  of  his  social  and  intellectual  characteristics 
thus :  "  During  the  greater  part  of  his  collegiate 
career,  he  exhibited  but  few  traits  that  would  dis- 
tinguish him  from  that  class  of  youths,  that  occupied 
an  honorable  and  respectable  position  in  their  diffe- 
rent classes  and  college  societies.  Perhaps,  if  he 
differed  from  them  in  any  respect  it  was  in  the  re- 
markable sprightliness  of  his  temperament,  the  emi- 
nently social  qualities  of  his  mind,  and  his  astonish- 
ing powers  of  memory.  As  a  natural  consequence 
of  such  peculiar  dispositions,  he  was  fond  of  amuse- 
ment and  sport.  And  as  he  often  said,  he  was  fonder 
of  play  than  of  study  when  under  the  care  of  the 
Latin  master  of  his  native  village,  so  he  was  not  as 
distinguished  for  burning  the  midnight  lamp,  or  por- 
ing over  the  musty  folio,  as  the  character  of  his  re- 
citations and  literary  performances  would  seem  to 
indicate. 

^'  He  possessed  a  surprising  facility  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  language,  and  from  the  exuberance  and  spright- 
liness of  his  fancy  there  were  but  few  among  the  hun- 
dreds of  his  college  associates  who  surpassed  him  in 
the  richness,  beauty,  and  strength  of  his  literary  pro- 
ductions. Though  among  the  first  in  the  '  foot-ball 
field,'  and  at  the  *  alley,'  and  in  the  social  club,  he 
was  nevertheless  among  the  first  in  his  class,  and  in 
the  esteem  and  honor  of  his  society." 

But  his  social  and  intellectual  position  is  not  the 
chief  thing  to  be  regarded.  His  moral  and  religious 
character  needs  especially  to  be  pondered,  whether  it 


oq 


LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    y.    M    GINNES. 


were  ripening  him,  amidst  all  his  external  privileges, 
only  for  "  the  bottomless  pit,"  or  were  preparing  him 
"  as  the  shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and  more 
unto  the  perfect  day,"  to  shine  for  ever  among  the 
ransomed  of  the  Lord,  amidst  tli^  splendors  of  the 
Eternal  Throne.  Happy  are  we  to  be  able  to  state 
that  "  Christian,  the  highest  style  of  man,"  adorned 
his  character — that  his  college  life  proved  to  be  not 
only  one  of  the  most  interesting,  but  also  one  of  the 
most  glorious  periods  of  his  life.  He  went  to  college,  in 
the  good  providence  of  God,  not  to  be  ruined,  as  too 
many  are,  but  to  be  saved.  It  was  there  that  he  be- 
came experimentally  acquainted  with  the  doctrine  of 
the  new  birth,  and  that  he  first  tasted  of  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  a  Saviour's  love,  and  of  the  "joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

Though  absent  from  the  wholesome  restraints  of 
home,  a  father's  pious  counsels  were  engraven  upon 
his  heart ;  and  he  was  still  a  child  of  faith,  and  prayer, 
and  tears.  Under  such  an  influence,  known  or  un- 
known, he  was  among  the  most  likely  ones  who  would 
share  in  any  special  mercies  from  a  covenant-keeping 
God. 

Accordingly,  during  an  extensive  revival  of  reli- 
gion at  college,  in  the  winter  of  1834-5,  he  became 
one  of  the  subjects  of  God's  renewing  and  sanctifying 
grace.  Notwithstanding  all  his  youthful  levity,  his 
carnal  blindness,  his  indiiference,  and  even  opposition 
to  divine  things,  he  was  "  effectually  called,"  accord- 
ing to  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  and  in  the  appointed 


HIS     COLLEGE     LIFE.  23 

time,  by  the  Spirit  of  grace  accompanying  the  faithful 
dispensation  of  the  truth,  out  of  nature's  darkness 
into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  gospel,  and  fitted  to 
be  a  polished  shaft  in  his  Master's  quiver. 

An  eye-witness  has  written  of  this  period,  in  sub- 
stance, as  follows :  "  Christians  had  grown  cold ; 
ambition  drove  forward  the  students  with  an  iron 
rod  ;  the  spirit  of  rivalry  between  the  literary  socie- 
ties connected  with  the  college  ran  high ;  and  wick- 
edness and  insubordination  prevailed  to  an  alarming 
extent.  It  appeared  as  though  Satan  himself  had 
been  let  loose  to  rule  at  will  the  impenitent.  In  the 
midst  of  this  darkness,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  President 
of  the  College,  alluded  to  it  as  a  ground  of  encourage- 
ment to  Christians,  and,  consequently,  as  a  loud  call 
for  earnest,  importunate  prayer. 

About  this  time,  when  things  apparently  could  get 
no  worse,  and  when  Christians  had  been  driven  to  God 
in  prayer,  the  hour  of  deliverance  came.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Deruelle,  agent  for  the  American  Tract  Society,  a 
plain,  practical  preacher,  came  to  Canonsburg.  A  pro- 
tracted meeting  was  held  ;  days  of  fasting  and  prayer 
were  appointed.  The  members  of  the  Church  were 
urged  to  humble  themselves,  and  to  pour  out  their 
hearts  before  God,  assured  that  he  would  bless  them 
just  in  proportion  as  they  were  prepared  to  receive  his 
blessing.  The  works  of  Baxter,  Allein,  and  Flavel, 
now  were  circulated  freely,  and  the  pious  dead  began 
to  speak  for  God.  Religious  interest  was  awakened. 
It  was  evident  that  there  was  a  shaking  among  the 


24  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

dry  bones, — that  God  was  in  the  midst  of  his  people. 
Several  became  deeply  concerned  about  their  spiritual 
state.  Their  numbers  daily  increased  ;  some  of  the 
most  consistent  and  conscientious  members  of  the 
Church  for  a  short  time  gave  up  their  hope ;  and,  ere 
long,  a  multitude  from  the  ranks  of  the  ungodly  were 
found  crowding  the  inquiry-meeting,  desiring  an 
interest  in  the  prayers  of  God's  people,  and  anxiously 
asking,  in  the  language  of  the  jailer,  '  What  must  I 
do  to  be  saved  V  The  stores  in  town  were  closed ; 
boarding-houses  became  solemn  as  churches,"and  the 
presence  of  God  seemed  to  pervade  every  mind. 
Among  the  openly  wicked,  various  courses  were 
taken  at  this  time.  Some  left  college,  some  scoffed, 
some  stood  and  looked  on  with  amazement,  and  some 
yielded  to  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit.  Among  those 
that  mocked,  and  yet,  under  the  powerful  strivings 
of  the  Spirit,  yielded  their  whole  hearts  to  God  with 
ingenuous  confession  and  earnest  supplication,  was 
our  lamented  brother." 

The  following  graphic  sketch  of  this  part  of  his 
history,  from  the  pen  of  his  endeared  room-mate  and 
bosom  companion,  will  be  read  with  interest :  "With 
regard  to  his  religious  dispositions  during  the  earlier 
part  of  his  college  course,"  he  writes,  "but  little 
can  with  certainty  be  known,  and  that  more  negative 
in  its  character  than  positive.  It  is  reasonable  to 
infer,  from  the  influences  and  restraints  that  gathered 
their  blessings  around  his  childhood  and  early  youth, 
and  from  the  solicitude  known  to  have  been  cherished 


niS     COLLEGE    LIFE.  25 

for  him  as  a  child  of  the  covenant  by  his  excellent 
father,  that  he  had  seasons  of  deep  solemnity  and 
pungent  conviction.  But  it  was  not  until  the  winter 
of '34-5,  that  his  impressions  and  convictions  assumed 
a  visible  and  permanent  form.  The  state  of  religion 
in  the  College  church,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Brown,  had  been  extremely  low  for  years,  and  from 
the  number  of  expulsions  and  suspensions  in  the 
College,  we  must  infer  that  the  state  of  morals 
among  the  students  Avas  in  a  deplorable  condition. 
Drinking  and  card-playing  parties  were  not  unfre- 
quent,  and  sorry  we  are  to  record,  that  to  those 
parties  Mr.  M'Ginnes  and  his  bosom  friend  and 
room-mate  were  not  entirely  strangers.  The  regular 
communion  season  in  the  College  church  approached. 
The  Saturday  evening  previous  came,  and  while  the 
man  of  God  was  delivering  his  message,  and  souls 
w^ere  trembling  before  the  awful  thunderings  of  Sinai, 
there  was  a  select  party  gathered  in  an  upper  cham- 
ber, not  far  distant,  in  which  wine  and  revelry  were 
the  distinguishing  characteristics.  The  Sabbath 
came.  It  was  a  sweet  and  awful  day.  Proud  spirits, 
that  had  never  quailed  before,  were  riven  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Highest,  and  at  their  wit's-end  were 
crying,  '  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?'  The 
meetings  continued.  Religious  interest  deepened. 
The  inquiry-room  became  crowded.  God  had  come 
down  among  the  rebels  of  Jefferson  College,  and  was 
proving  himself  mighty  to  bend  the  rebellious  will, 


26  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

and  lead  captivity  captive.  ^  The  people  were  filled 
with  wonder  and  amazement  at  the  things  that  were 
done.' 

"  Tuesday  afternoon  came,  and  found  two  thought- 
less youths,  who  had  been  hitherto  unreached,  sitting 
together  in  their  room,  and,  half-serious  and  half  in 
jest,  recounting  the  singular  events  that  were  trans- 
piring around  them.  In  a  jocular  manner,  one  of 
them  said  to  the  other,  '  M.,  your  old  man  gave  you 
a  Bible,  and  so  did  mine;  there  they  lie  with  the 
dust  and  cobwebs  of  three  months  on  them  :  let's  get 
them  down  and  read  till  night,  and  go  to  meeting  ?' 
'Agreed  !'  was  M.'s  immediate  and  hearty  response. 
The  dust  was  wiped  from  the  neglected  Bibles,  and 
for  two  hours  did  those  thoughtless  boys,  in  silence, 
peruse  the  sacred  page,  more,  perhaps,  out  of  respect 
for  the  long-forgotten  injunctions  of  their  fathers, 
than  for  the  Word  itself;  yet,  as  they  afterwards 
believed,  in  consequence  of  the  silent  interweaving 
of  the  Holy  Spirit's  influences,  with  the  almost  unfelt 
convictions  and  remonstrances  of  their  conscience. 

''  They  entered  together  the  house  of  God;  thence 
one  at  least  was  drawn,  he  scarcely  knew  how,  to 
the  inquiry-room,  thence  to  his  now  lonely  chamber, 
where,  for  two  days  and  nights,  he  wrestled  for 
mercy,  and,  with  his  first  waking  thoughts  on  the 
morning  of  the  third  day,  experienced  a  peace  he 
never  knew  before — a  joy  that  was  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory.  But  where  was  M.  ?  He  had  not  dark- 
ened the  door,  nor  broken  the  awful  silence  of  that 


niS    COLLEGE    LIFE.  "  27 

chamber  from  the  moment  he   had  laid  his  Bible 
down,  and  started  for  the  house  of  prayer. 

"  On  the  morning  alluded  to,  while  his  friend  lay 
contemplating  the  beauty  and  love  of  his  glorious 
Redeemer,  the  door  was  opened,  and  M.  appeared. 
He  started.  *  My.  dear  M.,' said  his  friend,  'what 
have  I  done,  that  you  have  so  long  deserted  the 
room,  and  left  me  alone  V  ^  I  was  afraid  to  come 
here,'  was  his  significant  reply.  '  I  was  glad  you 
stayed  away,'  said  his  friend.  ^  Why  ?'  was  his 
quick  inquiry.  '  Because,'  replied  his  friend,  '  I 
feared  you  would  jeer  and  joke  me  out  of  my  convic- 
tions and  fears, — but  now,  oh  !  M.,  I  have  hope — I 
have  joy !'  In  an  instant  he  sprang  upon  the  bed, 
shouting,  '  Bless  the  Lord,  oh  my  soul  !  I  have 
hope,  I  have  joy,  too  !'  They  were  clasped  in  each 
other's  arms,  in  an  intensity  of  brotherly  love  they 
had  never  known  before.  After  the  overwhelming 
emotions  of  the  moment  had  subsided,  M.  recounted 
to  his  friend  the  steps  by  which  he  had  been  brought 
to  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  clothed  in  his  right  mind. 

"  On  the  evening  when  they  entered  the  house  of 
God  together,  he  had  heard  the  searching,  spirit- 
stirring  message  of  Christ's  ambassador,  and  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  given  it  demonstration  and  power 
in  his  conscience,  and  he  had  gone  out,  not  knowing 
whither  he  went,  yet  determined  not  to  surrender. 
In  this  his  purpose  was  fixed,  and  in  order  to  arm 
his  resolutions,  and,  if  possible,  dissolve  the  strange 
spell  that  had  come  over  him,  he  retired  to  a  beer- 


28  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

shop,  and  having  drank  a  glass  or  two,  he  went 
across  the  street  toward  his  room.  He  reached  the 
gate,  put  his  hand  upon  the  latch,  but  could  do  no 
more.  Several  attempts  were  made  to  open  and 
enter,  but  thej  were  ineffectual.  Having  been  in 
this  position,  as  he  thought,  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  he  felt  himself  impelled  towards  that  same 
inquiry-room  from  which  he  had  so  recently  hurried 
with  repugnance  and  determination. 

"  Shrinking  and  fearful,  he  entered  that  still  and 
awful  chamber.  Behind  the  door  he  took  his  seat, 
while  his  friend  was  in  front.  They  did  not  see  each 
other,  and  when  they  left  the  inquiry-meeting,  the 
one  went  to  his  room  to  weep  and  wrestle  alone,  and 
the  other  v*'ent  with  a  student,  whom  before  he  had 
literally  hated,  where  he  enjoyed  his  prayers  and 
counsels,  as  well  as  his  hospitalities,  until  on  the 
morning  of  the  third  day,  Avhen  hope  dawned,  and 
joy  poured  her  consolations  upon  his  soul.  Ignorant 
of  the  sore  conflicts  his  friend  had  experienced,  and 
supposing  him  to  be  still  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and 
bond  of  iniquity,  he  had  come  to  beseech  him  to  be 
reconciled  to  God.  He  found  him  hoping — rejoicing 
in  possession  of  that  good  part  which  he  trusts  shall 
jiever  be  taken  away. 

"Mr.  M'Ginnes  and  his  friend,  whose  religious  his- 
tory commenced  under  auspices  like  these,  derived 
very  essential  encouragement  and  comfort  from  the 
sympathy  and  counsel  of  a  godly  young  Welshman, 
the  Rev.  Griffith  Owen,  who  attended  daily  at  their 


HIS     COLLEGE     LIFE.  29 

room  for  weeks,  for  conversation  and  prayer.  These 
occasions  are  to  be  remembered  "with  gratitude  to 
God  as  seasons  of  refreshing  and  solid  satisfaction. 
Evening  and  morning,  the  two  young  brothers  in 
Christ  offered  the  incense  of  grateful  prayer  upon 
the  altar  of  God,  as  long  as  they  continued  the  occu- 
pants of  the  same  bed  and  the  same  chamber." 

So  soon  as  Mr.  McGinnes  had  obtained  "  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  he  signi- 
fied the  same  to  his  father  in  a  letter,  giving  a  brief 
description  of  his  exercises  and  hopes,  and  asking 
his  parent  to  join  with  him  in  thanksgivings,  and  to 
remember  him  in  his  prayers.  His  father  replied 
immediately,  acknowledging  the  event  to  be  the  gift 
of  God  in  answer  to  his  prayers  for  his  child,  ex- 
pressing his  matured  conviction  of  the  faithfulness 
of  God  as  a  covenant  God,  and  appropriating  to 
himself  the  language  of  Simeon,  ''  Lord,  now  lettest 
thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  salvation." 

The  following  letter,  just  referred  to,  from  Mr. 
M'Ginnes's  own  hand,  will  be  read,  no  doubt,  with 
additional  interest  upon  this  most  eventful  part  of 
his  history  : — 

Canonsburg,  Saturday  morning, 
Dec.  27th,  183^. 

Dear  Parents  : — I  sit  down  to  write  to  you,  but 
where  shall  I  begin,  and  what  shall  I  tell  you  first  ? 
Shall  I  tell  you  that  I  am  well  ?     Yes,  more ;  I  shall 


30  LIFE     or     REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

tell  you  the  news — the  delightful  ne^ys — that  I  enter- 
tain a  blessed  hope  that  I  have  an  interest  in  Jesus. 
Yes,  dear,  dear  parents,  I  have  come  weak,  wretched, 
guilty  as  I  am,  and  cast  myself  at  the  foot  of  his 
cross.  Oh  !  how  precious  is  he  to  my  soul  !  Oh  ! 
you  know  not  the  wickedness — the  depravity  of  my 
heart.  You  know  not  how  I  have  been  deceiving 
you  and  deceiving  myself.  I  have  been  standing 
careless  and  unconcerned  on  slippery  rocks,  whilst 
fiery  billows  have  been  rolling  below  me.  Blessed 
be  God  !  that  your  prayers,  and  the  prayers  of  my 
dear  friends  here  have  been  answered,  and  that  I 
have  been  brought  to  see  my  wretched,  lost  condi- 
tion, and  to  cry  mightily  unto  the  Father  of  spirits, 
that  he  would  give  me  faith  through  his  dear  Son. 
Oh  !  I  have  been  spending  that  money,  time,  and 
talents  which  a  gracious  God  has  given  me,  in  the 
service  of  the  devil.  I  have  been  ruining  myself, 
and  deceiving  you.  Will  you — can  you  forgive  me  ? 
But  it  is  time  that  I  should  tell  you  how  this 
blessed  work  was  brought  about.  Last  Thursday  a 
week  was  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer, 
appointed  by  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  on  account  of 
the  low  state  of  religion  in  the  churches  within  their 
bounds,  and  that  God  would  pour  out  his  spirit  and 
revive  his  work  in  them.  The  day  was  observed 
here  with  solemnity,  and  on  last  Sabbath  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  administered  in  the  College  chapel.  A 
protracted  meeting  was  held,  and  Dr.  Brown  was 
assisted  by  a  minister  from  New  York,  the  Rev.  Mr. 


niS     COLLEGE     LIFE.  31 

Deruelle,  a  dear  man  indeed.  There  was  a  solemnity 
pervading  the  hearts  of  all  God's  people.  On  Tues- 
day night,  all  those  who  wished  to  be  conversed  with 
were  requested  to  go  to  the  "  Senior  Hall"  after  the 
congregation  was  dismissed.  Mr.  Deruelle  had 
preached  a  very  pointed  discourse  from  the  text  : 
"  Wherefore  doth  the  wicked  contemn  God ;  he  hath 
said  in  his  heart,  thou  wilt  not  require  it?"  I  felt 
somewhat  impressed  during  the  service  with  the 
wretchedness  of  my  condition  as  a  sinner,  but  tried 
to  banish  the  impression  from  my  mind.  And  for 
this  purpose  I  started  down  to  a  beer-shop,  to  laugh 
it  away  with  some  of  my  ungodly  companions,  and  I 
scoffed — yes,  scoffed  at  God  and  his  religion.  Oh, 
what  unmerited  mercy  that  I  have  been  spared ! 
Still  I  could  not  banish  my  convictions.  The  Spirit 
of  God  was  striving  with  me,  and  I  knew  it.  I  left 
the  beer-shop,  and  went  up  towards  the  College.  I 
felt  a  something — a  load — of  which  I  would  like  to 
be  relieved.  I  heard  just  then  singing  in  the  "  Senior 
Hall."  I  wished  I  was  there.  I  went  into  the  Col- 
lege, and  listened.  I  started  to  go  up  stairs  towards 
the  hall,  and  some  person  whom  I  did  not  then  know, 
as  it  was  dark,  started  up  with  me.  When  I  got  on  the 
first  landing-place  I  stopped.  I  asked  this  person, 
whom  I  then  found  to  be  a  Mr.  Penser,  a  pious  young 
man,  if  he  was  going  iii.  He  said  he  would  like  to, 
but  Dr.  Brown  had  said  that  only  sinners  who  had  the 
will  to  come  should  go  up.  He  said  he  thought  it 
would  be  interesting.     I  expressed  a  desire  to  go  in, 


32  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

but  was  ashamed  to  go  in  by  myself.  He  said  he 
would  accompany  me  then.  We  went  in,  and  when 
I  got  in  I  saw  some  of  my  companions  deeply  dis- 
tressed. I  knew  not  what  to  do.  I  sat  down  weep- 
ing, and  prayed  that  God  would  break  my  stubborn 
heart.  Dr.  Brown  came  and  talked  to  me.  I  wept 
bitterly,  and  told  him  how  I  felt.  He  tried  to  point 
me  to  Jesus,  but  my  depraved  heart  would  not  relent. 
After  we  were  dismissed,  I  went  to  Dr.  Brown  and 
to  Mr.  Deruelle,  and  asked  them  to  pray  for  me. 
After  they  had  prayed,  I  went  down  with  Mr. 
Deruelle  to  a  room  occupied  by  two  pious  young  men. 
I  wrestled  there  with  God  that  he  would  break  my 
heart.  I  went  home  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  went 
to  bed,  but  still  was  unwilling  to  come  to  the  cross 
of  my  insulted  Saviour. 

On  Christmas  eve,  in  prayer-meeting,  I  first  enter- 
tained a  faint  hope  of  his  preciousness  ;  yet  it  was 
not  until  last  night  after  I  had  retired  that  I  felt  his 
presence  so  delightfully  sweet.  It  appeared  some- 
times as  if  I  was  in  his  immediate  presence.  I  could 
only  lie  and  adore  that  unmerited  mercy  and  grace 
which  saved  me  from  the  dark  abyss.  I  am  weak 
and  helpless,  but  the  grace  of  God  is  sufficient  for 
me.  He  is  my  Redeemer,  my  Elder  Brother,  my 
Friend.  0  to  live  near  him,  to  be  his  through  life, 
to  go  wherever  he  commands,  to  do  whatever  he  wills, 
and  when  I  have  passed  the  gloomy  vale  leaning  on  his 
arm  I  may  rise  to  join  you  and  all  his  dear  followers, 
in    ascribing   praise   to  him  throughout  an  endless 


HIS     COLLEGE     LIFE.  33 

eternity.  0  pray,  dear  parents,  that  he  would 
strengthen  me,  and  that  I  may  never  bring  dishonor 
upon  him  or  his  cause.  The  influence  of  God's 
Spirit  is  extending  over  this  village.  I  never  saw 
such  solemn  assemblies.  The  arrows  of  God  are 
piercing  many  a  hard  heart,  and  compelling  them 
to  cry  for  mercy.  The  revival  here  will  shake  the 
kingdom  of  darkness  to  its  centre.  Its  influence 
will  be  felt  over  the  world.  But  I  must  close  this 
delightful  theme.  Give  my  love  to  all  my  Christian 
friends,  and  warn  my  impenitent  companions  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come.  And  0  tell  dear  sister 
Anna  to  come  to  Christ.  He  is  a  precious  Saviour. 
Tell  her  for  my  sake,  for  her  soul's  sake,  for  the  sake 
of  a  crucified  Jesus,  to  come  now.  "Now  is  the  ac- 
cepted time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation." 

Farewell,  and  if  we  never  meet  again  on  earth 
may  Ave  meet  around  the  throne  of  the  Lamb,  where 
we  shall  never,  never  part. 

From  your  undutiful,  but  now, 

I  trust,  repentant  son, 

James  M'Ginnes.* 

Such  was  the  time  of  our  beloved  brother's  es- 
pousals to  Christ. 

*  Mr.  M'Ginnes  had  no  double  name,  and  it  was  not  until 
after  lie  had  graduated  and  removed  to  Steubenville,  Ohio,  that 
he  assumed  one.  He  there  found  another  person  of  the  same 
name,  and  in  order  to  distinguish  them,  he  chose  the  letter  "  Y," 
and  ever  after  used  it  as  one  of  the  initials  of  his  name. 


34  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'gINNES. 

In  connexion  with  some  thirty-five  or  forty  others, 
mostly  students,  and  some  of  them  now  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  united  with  the  College 
church  in  Canonsburg  some  time  in  March,  1835,  and 
continued  consistent  in  his  profession  and  faithful  in 
the  discharge  of  his  Christian  duties  until,  with  his 
class,  he  graduated  in  the  autumn  of  '35,  and  left 
the  classic  halls  of  Jefferson  to  enter,  though  not 
immediately,  on  the  study  of  his  profession — the 
blessed  but  self-denying  work  of  the  gospel  ministry. 
As  to  the  character  of  his  religious  experience,  at 
this  period,  his  room-mate  writes :  "  His  mind,  at 
this  time,  was  by  no  means  constant  in  its  apprehen- 
sion of  divine  things.  His  feelings  were  fluctuating. 
Sometimes  he  was  clear  in  the  visions  of  his  faith, 
and  almost  ecstatic  in  his  joys.  At  other  times  he 
was  in  the  valley  of  humiliation,  mourning  without 
the  light  of  the  sun ;  yet,  always,  with  a  trembling 
though  tenacious  faith  would  he  say,  '  I  know  whom 
I  have  believed,'  and  ^  though  he  slay  me  yet  will  I 
trust  in  him.' 

"  His  natural  temperament  being  impulsive  and 
sprightly,  he  was  apt,  at  times,  to  be  betrayed  into 
those  extremes  of  which  his  nature  seemed  to  be  so 
susceptible.  Few  persons  were  possessed  of  manners 
so  affable,  of  qualities  so  social,  and  hence  his  society 
was  courted,  both  before  and  after  his  conversion, 
by  a  variety  of  persons ;  and  not  unfrequently  did 
his  kindly  and  social  spirit  carry  him  along  uncon- 
sciously into  humorous  and  extravagant  indulgences, 


HIS     SEMINARY    LIFE.  35 

that  in  his  retirement  would  occasion  him  seasons  of 
extreme  humiliation  and  regret.  If  he  sometimes 
had  clear  and  rapturous  discoveries  of  the  glory  of 
his  Immanuel,  and  of  the  companionships  of  his  upper 
kingdom,  he  often  had  "dark  views  of  himself,  and 
formed  low  estimates  of  the  character  of  his  piety 
and  the  service  he  rendered  to  his  Saviour.  Yet  his 
hope  was  abiding  ;  and,  doubtless,  from  the  height 
of  glory  whither  he  has  ascended,  he  can  contem- 
plate, with  an  ecstasy  of  thanksgiving  and  satisfac- 
tion, the  achievements  of  that  grace  that  led  him 
captive  to  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  taught  and  disci- 
plined his  immortal  spirit,  and  guided  his  footsteps 
in  the  path  of  usefulness  and  virtue,  until  he  was 
ripe  for  the  rewards  of  immortality." 

HIS  SEMINARY  LIFE. 

After  graduating,  which  he  did  in  the  fall  of 
1835  with  great  acceptance  to  his  preceptors,  and 
with  honor  to  himself — having  been  appointed  to 
deliver,  if  we  mistake  not,  the  valedictory  oration 
— he  retired  immediately,  at  the  recommendation  of 
Dr.  Brown,  to  Steubenville,  Ohio,  where  he  under- 
took the  department  of  languages  in  a  classical 
academy  ;  but  before  the  year  for  which  he  had  en- 
gaged had  expired  his  health  so  entirely  failed,  in 
consequence  of  confinement  and  arduous  labors,  that 
he  was  constrained  to  relinquish  the  undertaking. 
This  occurred  in  the  spring  of  1836. 


36  L  I F  E     0  F     R  K  V.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I N  N  E  S. 

During  the  summer  followiRg,  he  was  part  of  the 
time  under  the  care  of  his  physician  in  his  native 
village,  and  part  of  the  time  laboring  as  his  strength 
admitted  on  his  father's  farm.  His  health  having 
thus  become  much  improved,  he  said  one  day  to  his 
parents  that  he  would  now  study  a  profession.  His 
father  inquired  what  profession?  He  replied,  "Fa- 
ther, I  will  study  divinity."  The  choice  was  alto- 
gether voluntary,  but  it  was  just  what  his  pious 
parents  desired. 

In  the  winter  of  1836  and  '37  having  learned  that 
his  old  college  friend  was  in  the  Indiana  Theological 
Seminary,  he  wrote  to  him,  and  receiving  encourage- 
ment. He  entered  on  the  study  of  Theology  in  that 
institution  in  May  or  June  of  1837.  The  same 
traits  of  character  that  marked  his  college  career 
Vere  exhibited  during  his  theological  course,  but 
under  the  growing  power  and  congenial  themes  of 
true  religion,  so  that  he  regarded  his  residence  at 
the  Seminary  as  the  most  happy  period  of  his  pre- 
vious life. 

To  a  dear  friend  he  now  writes,  "  0  there  is 
a  happiness  in  living  to  bless  and  benefit  others 
that  I  had  thous'ht  never  could  have  been  realized 
in  this  vale  of  tears.  Let  us  so  live  that  when 
death  shall  have  closed  our  eyes,  our  memories  may 
live  not  merely  engraven  on  tablets  of  Parian  marble, 
but  written  in  characters  of  light  and  life  upon  the 
tablet  of  every  heart — a  monumental  pillar  that 
outlives  the  corrosion  of  time ;  then  shall  our  lives 


HIS    SEMINARY    LIFE.  37 

flow  sweetly  on,  and  our  end  shall  be  joyous  and 
tranquil." 

His  vacations  he  always  spent  at  home,  laboring 
upon  his  father's  farm.  He  assisted  both  in  gather- 
ing in  a  harvest,  and  putting  in  the  fall  crop  each 
year  before  returning  to  the  Seminary.  He  thought 
that  by  spending  his  vacations  thus,  his  constitution 
was  strengthened,  and  his  practical  knowledge  of 
farming  increased,  as  well  as  considerable  expense 
in  hiring  laborers  saved  his  father,  who  was  using 
every  exertion,  with  limited  means,  to  complete  his 
education. 

Upon  his  return  to  South  Hanover  in  November, 
1838,  he  reached  Pittsburg  late  on  Saturday  night, 
cold  and  exhausted.  The  next  morning  he  arose 
with  renewed  vigor,  and  purposing  to  remain  during 
the  day  in  the  city,  he  says,  "  I  sallied  out  after 
breakfast  to  witness  the  celebration  of  mass  in  the 
Catholic  cathedral — a  ceremony  I  had  never  before 
witnessed.  The  exterior  of  the  building  is  grand 
and  gloomy,  of  Gothic  architecture — a  style  of 
building  peculiar  to  Catholic  countries  during  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope.  But  the  interior  was  of  a 
different  order.  As  I  entered  the  vestibule,  a  Ca- 
tholic came  running  towards  me  with  a  small  collec- 
tion-box, but  I  passed  without  pretending  to  notice 
him,  and  was  ushered  into  the  cathedral  itself. 

"  Never  before  did  I  witness  such  a  spectacle.  The 
scene  was  grand  and  imposing  almost  beyond  belief; 
for  up  the  long  crowded  aisles,  and  the  richly  car- 


38  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

peted  and  festooned  galleries  might  be  seen  the 
devoted  followers  of  the  '  Man  of  Sin'  engaged 
in  the  peculiar  exercises  of  the  morning.  Now  the 
solemn,  deep-toned  organ  pours  forth  its  thrilling 
strains,  and,  as  one  man,  the  mighty  assembled  multi- 
tude bow  their  heads  in  silent  adoration.  Anon  its 
rich  music  dies  in  sweet  harmonious  cadence  upon  the 
ear,  and  the  low,  sepulchral  murmurings  of  prayer, 
like  the  far-off  muttering  of  the  thunder,  arises  from 
a  thousand  lips.  Here  the  wretched  penitent  hoping 
to  merit  heaven  by  his  mortifications,  with  measured 
stroke  beats  his  breast  until  the  sound  reverberates. 
There  the  good  Catholic,  worthy  of  a  saintship  in 
the  calendar,  drops  from  her  rosary  the  glassy  bead 
at  each  repetition  of  an  'Ave  Maria,'  or  a  'Pater 
Noster.'  In  the  farthest  recess  of  the  cathedral, 
before  the  burnished  crucifix,  and  the  long,  lighted, 
waxen  tapers,  stood  the  self-styled  priest  of  God,  as 
if  in  mockery  of  true  religion,  repeating  his  mum- 
meries, and  performing  ceremonies  the  most  ludicrous. 
"Leaning  against  a  pillar,  I  mused  upon  the  scene 
before  me.  Various  and  multiplied  were  the  reflec- 
tions that  passed  through  my  mind.  Memory  carried 
me  far  back  over  the  long  track  of  history,  and  I 
thought  of  the  fires  Catholic  persecution  had  lit  up — 
and  of  the  thousand  martyrs  who  had  sealed  their 
testimony  to  the  religion  of  the  blessed  Jesus  with 
their  blood.  Here  were  the  descendants  of  those 
fiendish  spirits  who  had  deluged  Europe  with  Chris- 
tian gore — of  those  who  had  driven  my  Protestant 


II  IS     SEMINARY    LIFE.  39 

ancestors  from  their  home  in  sunny  France,  to  seek, 
as  refugees,  in  a  foreign  land,  that  protection  which 
their  own  country  had  denied  them.  And  did  these 
possess  the  same  ignorant,  infuriated  zeal  in  the 
unholy  cause — the  same  burning,  implacable  hatred 
against  us  their  descendants,  and  were  they  only  re- 
strained by  the  arm  of  the  law  ?  The  secret  of  their 
heart  is  known  but  to  Omniscience.  God  forbid  that 
such  rancorous  hate  should  ever  again  characterize 
one,  who  bears  the  same  stamp  of  humanity  and  im- 
mortality with  ourselves. 

"  Natural  was  the  transition  from  reflections  such  as 
these,  to  look  into  the  dim  shadowings  of  futurity. 
What  were  its  prospects  ?  Were  the  bloody  scenes 
of  the  dark  ages  again  to  be  re-enacted  with  twofold 
virulence  upon  a  different  stage  ?  And  was  the  world 
again  to  wonder  after  the  beast  and  false  prophet, 
and  the  gibbet  and  the  stake  again  to  exhibit  heart- 
rending spectacles  to  the  gaze  of  the  taunting,  perse- 
cuting multitude  ?  Or,  was  a  brighter  era  commencing, 
when  the  beast  and  the  lying  prophet  should  receive 
their  reward,  when  the  Jew  shall  be  brought  in  with 
the  fulness  of  the  Gentile,  and  Avhen,  with  these 
same  poor,  blinded  Catholics,  I  should  unite  in  praising 
our  common  Redeemer  ? 

*  How  long,  dear  Saviour,  0  how  long, 
Shall  that  bright  hour  delay  ?'  " 

The  following  covenant,  expressive  of  his  inner 
life  while  connected  with  his  Saviour,  is  found  among 


40  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

his  birth-day  reflections  of  December  8th,  1838, 
which  was  solemnly  renewed  the  succeeding  year. 
"  This  day  is  the  anniversary  of  my  birth.  Twenty- 
three  years  have  rolled  around,  and  been  numbered 
with  the  past,  since  my  eyes  first  saw  the  light. 
When  I  look  back  on  the  journey  of  life,  how  much 
cause  have  I  for  gratitude  ?  The  guardian  eye  of 
Providence  has  watched  over  me  amidst  the  feeble- 
ness of  infancy  ;  directed  and  upheld  the  tottering 
footsteps  of  childhood ;  mercifully  preserved  me 
amidst  the  waywardness  of  youth ;  and  has  led  me 
up  to  manhood.  Oh,  how  rebellious  have  I  been  ! 
How  justly  might  God  have  cut  me  down  as  a 
cumberer  of  his  ground,  when  by  my  flagrant  impiety 
I  dared  high  heaven  to  the  stroke  !  But  no  ;  in  long- 
suff'ering  mercy  he  has  borne  with  me,  and  instead  of 
withering  beneath  his  wrath  he  has  called  me,  I 
trust,  into  the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son.  Oh,  the 
depths  of  the  riches  of  the  mercy  and  grace  of  God  ! 
that  I  should  be  made  a  subject  of  his  grace — that 
I,  who  crucified  the  blessed  Redeemer  afresh  and 
sinned  against  light  and  knowledge,  should  be  par- 
doned, should  be  adopted  into  the  family  of  God, 
and  made  a  partaker  of  the  privileges  enjoyed  by 
his  children. 

"  Yet  how  little  have  I  been  influenced  by  these 
considerations  !  How  neglectful  I  have  been  of  duty  ! 
How  unworthily  have  I  walked  in  that  high  vocation, 
wherewith  I  have  been  called  !  0  how  often  have  I 
turned   away   from    the   reward    of    righteousness, 


HIS     SEMINARY     LIFE.  41 

kindly  offered  through  a  Saviour's  Cross,  to  the 
grovelling  sensualities  of  earth — to  the  unsatisfying 
enjoyments  of  a  guilty,  transient  world,  as  if  they 
could  fill  an  immortal  mind,  or  satisfy  its  longing 
desires !  And  yet  I  am  here — here  in  the  land  of 
the  living  and  place  of  repentance — here,  permitted 
to  enjoy  a  name  and  place  in  his  Church — here,  with 
his  blessed  word  in  my  hand,  and  his  promises  my 
trust — here,  permitted  not  only  to  labor  in  his  vine- 
yard, but  to  look  forward  to  a  time,  I  trust  not  far 
distant,  when,  though  the  unworthiest  of  the  un- 
worthy, I  shall  occupy  a  more  exalted  station  in  the 
Church  of  God,  and  become  to  my  dying  fellow-men 
a  minister  of  reconciliation. 

•'  Delio^htful  thouorht !  that  a  worm  should  be  so  ex- 
alted;  that  He  who  is  the  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  should  not  only  look  with  complacency  upon  the 
humble  creature  of  his  power,  but  should,  with  won- 
drous condescension,  commission  him  as  an  ambassa- 
dor from  the  high  court  of  heaven,  to  proclaim  peace 
and  pardon  to  revolted  rebels.     Amazing  grace  ! 

"  Lord,  on  the  verge  of  this  to  me  solemn  and  in- 
teresting day,  let  me  consecrate  myself  anew  to 
thee  ;  that,  if  it  is  thy  will  that  I  shall  be  permitted 
to  see  another  anniversary  return,  I  may  have  more 
love  to  the  Saviour  burning  within  my  heart, — with 
more  of  that  humility  which  should  become  a  follower 
of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus, — with  a  growing  hatred 
to  sin,  and  an  increasing  desire  after  holiness,  and 
conformity  to  the  will  of  God, — and  with  an  ardent 
4* 


42  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

zeal  for  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom. 

"  If  it  is  his  VfiW  to  spare  me,  may  it  ever  be  my 
earnest  prayer,  that  the  Lord  would  lift  upon  me  the 
light  of  his  approving  countenance, — that  as  the  past 
part  of  my  life  has  sufiSced  to  have  wrought  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  I  may  henceforth  serve  him  in  newness 
of  life,  devoting  myself  entirely  to  his  service,  and 
that  he  would  fit  me,  by  his  providence  and  grace, 
for  usefulness,  and  for  discharging,  with  an  eye  single 
to  his  honor  and  glory,  the  arduous  and  important 
duties  of  a  gospel  minister,  ever  remembering  that 
*  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness, as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.'  " 

The  closing  sentences  of  his  next  birthday  reflec- 
tions run  thus :  "  Let  the  remembrance  that  so  much 
of  my  time  has  gone  to  waste,  that  I  am  a  year 
nearer  the  bar  of  God  and  the  realities  of  eternity, 
add  an  increasing  stimulus  to  urge  me  forward  to  a 
more  active,  zealous  discharge  of  duty.  May  I  not 
lose  a  precious  moment,  but  may  my  time,  my  talents, 
my  acquisitions,  whatever  I  am  or  may  have,  be 
solemnly  and  conscientiously  devoted  to  God,  And 
may  I  be  instrumental  in  his  hand  of  doing  some 
good." 

In  consequence  at  one  time  of  ill  health,  and  at 
another,  of  being  called  away  to  take  care  of  au 
afilicted  friend,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his 
reason,  his  studies  at  the  Seminary  were  very  mate- 


HIS    SEMINARY     LIFE.  43 

riallj  interrupted.  At  length,  hoTvever,  after  having 
spent  about  three  years  in  the  seminary,  he  com- 
pleted his  course,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Madison  at  a  special  meeting  in  South  Hanover, 
on  the  27th  day  of  June,  1840. 

His  feelings  in  reference  to  the  sacred  office  are 
thus  expressed  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  :  "  The  respon- 
sibilities of  that  station  in  the  Church  of  God,  to 
which  we  are  looking  forward,  are  great  and  many. 
Let  us  then,  in  patience,  possess  our  souls,  and  let  it 
be  our  highest,  holiest  aspiration  to  be  assimilated  to 
Christ."  Again  he  says  :  "  Oh,  what  a  glorious  pri- 
vilege to  preach  the  gospel — to  hold  up  a  dying  Sa- 
viour to  the  world  !"  Just  before  leaving  the  Semi- 
nary, and  in  view  of  his  licensure,  we  have  his  sense 
of  dependence  upon  God  expressed.  "  I  shall  then," 
he  writes,  "  stand  upon  the  threshold  of  the  world — 
the  cold,  calculating,  selfish,  ungodly  world.  It  will 
all  be  before  me  where  to  choose  my  place  of  rest. 
But,  blessed  thought,  Providence  shall  be  my  guide." 
Again,  to  an  endeared  friend,  he  writes  :  "  Whatever 
my  lot  may  be,  I  know  not ;  but  let  our  prayer  be, 
that  God  would,  in  his  providence,  send  us  where  we 
may  be  most  useful  in  advancing  his  cause.  For  my 
part,  I  feel  as  if  I  could  go  to  any  place  where  I  may 
be  useful  throughout  this  wide  section  of  country. 
But  wherever  we  roam,  or  wherever  we  rest,  we  will 
make  the  blessed  God  our  portion;  we  will  rest 
secure  upon  the  bosom  of  our  beloved  Redeemer." 


M  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 


HIS  LABORS  IN  THE  WEST. 

While  prosecuting  his  studies,  Mr.  M'Ginnes's 
mind  was  turned  towards  the  great  West,  and  thither 
he  directed  his  steps  immediately  after  his  licensure. 
God,  in  his  providence,  had  prepared  a  field  for  him. 
He  went  directly  to  Illinois,  through  the  solicitations 
of  his  intimate  friend,  the  Rev.  S.  C.  M'Cune.  He 
first  visited  Peoria,  and  was  suddenly  attacked  there 
with  the  bilious  fever,  and  confined  for  two  weeks  at 
the  house  of  an  old  acquaintance.  As  soon  as  he 
recovered  strength  enough  to  travel,  he  visited  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Lewistown,  the  county  seat 
of  Fulton  County,  and  having  preached  for  that 
people  a  few  Sabbaths,  he  received  from  them  a  call 
to  become  their  pastor.  Speaking  of  his  first  efforts 
at  preaching,  he  says,  "  I  preached  four  times  in  one 
week,  rejoicing  in  heart  that  I  was  permitted,  through 
riches  of  grace,  to  say  something  for  the  Saviour." 

Feeling  disposed  to  accept  the  call  from  this  con- 
gregation, he  soon  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  and  on 
the  22d  of  October,  1840,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  M.  Criswell,  of  Franklin  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  whom  he  had  been  engaged  for  two  years. 
In  December,  he  returned  to  Illinois,  and  entered 
fully  upon  his  labors  at  Lewistown.  His  efforts  were 
always  well  received.  He  had  crowded  houses  and 
attentive  audiences.  The  town,  during  the  terms  of 
court,  was  often  visited  by  strangers. — lawyers,  and 


HIS    LABORS    IN    THE    WEST.  45 

others,  who  always  attended  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  the  pastor's  sermons  were  spoken  of  in  the 
highest  terms  of  admiration. 

Often  has  he  been  heard  to  pray,  after  being  told 
by  some  friend  of  the  manner  in  which  his  sermons 
were  spoken  of,  "  Lord,  keep  me  humble.  Suiferme 
to  hide  behind  thy  cross,  that  thine  own  name  may 
be  exalted  and  not  mine."  And  again,  "  Lord,  keep 
me  humble,  and  while  I  hold  up  a  dying  Saviour, 
may  I  be  hidden  from  view  behind  his  cross."  He 
seemed  to  realize  that  truth,  so  important  to  be  under- 
stood by  every  minister  of  the  gospel,  found  in  the 
diary  of  Robert  Murray  M'Cheyne,  "  I  see  a  man 
cannot  be  a  faithful  minister,  until  he  preaches  Christ 
for  Christ's  sake — until  he  gives  up  striving  to  attract 
people  to  himself,  and  seeks  only  to  attract  them  to 
Christ." 

Like  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  he  was 
"in  labors  more  abundant."  His  nervous,  active 
temperament  with  his  "heart's  desire"  to  do  good 
urged  him  on  constantly  to  effort,  until  but  little  time 
was  left  for  relaxation.  The  consequence  was,  that 
although  his  fertile  mind  was  capable  of  furnishing 
the  requisite  amount  of  material,  the  physical  labor 
necessary  was  often  beyond  the  strength  of  his  weak 
bodily  frame. 

Upon  the  Sabbath  he  usually  preached  twice  during 
the  day,  and  lectured  at  night.  He  gave  a  lecture 
also  every  Wednesday  evening ;  and  amidst  all  these 
pulpit  duties  he  did  not  neglect  pastoral  visitation. 


46  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

But  he  had  not  labored  long  thus,  before  he  was 
attacked  by  disease.  In  the  winter  and  spring  of 
1841,  he  suffered  from  the  ague  and  fever — the  pre- 
vailing sickness  of  that  locality. 

He  did  not,  however,  cease  his  labors,  but  con- 
tinued to  discharge  his  duties  whenever  it  was  possi- 
ble, notwithstanding  the  entreaties  of  his  people  to 
spare  himself  or  he  would  certainly  break  down.  He 
would  reply,  with  Cecil,  "  Better  wear  out,  than  rust 
out."  And  again,  "  This  is  nothing  more  than  ague, 
I  will  take  a  pulpit  sweat  and  shake  it  off."  Herein 
he  show^ed  that  spirit  of  restless  activity  and  indomi- 
table energy  that  ever  characterized  him  in  both 
health  and  sickness. 

One  Sabbath  morning — the  regular  day  for  his 
chill, — feeling  pretty  well,  and  seeing  a  good  con- 
gregation assembling  at  the  church,  he  said  that  he 
would  go ;  perhaps  he  would  escape  the  chill  that 
day.  He  went,  and  while  he  was  going  through  the 
preliminary  exercises,  it  was  observed  that  he  had  a 
chill  upon  him.  His  wife  hoped  that  he  would  go 
home  immediately  after  prayer,  knowing  that  when 
the  fever  w^ould  rise,  as  it  would  before  he  was  done 
preaching,  he  would  perhaps  get  flighty,  as  he  often 
did  when  the  fever  was  on  him.  She  says,  ''I  almost 
trembled  when  he  laid  aside  his  overcoat^  and  an- 
nounced his  text,  which  was,  I  think,  Matt.  22  :  5, 
*But  they  made  light  of  it.'"  He  proceeded,  and 
finished  his  discourse  without  difficulty.  After  the 
benediction  was  pronounced,  and  he  had  descended 


HIS    LABORS     IN     THE     WEST.  47 

from  the  pulpit,  he  inquired  of  his  wife,  "  Did  I  say 
anything  wrong  to-day?"  She  replied,  "I  think 
not."  "  Well,"  said  he,  "I  have  preached  to-day 
under  the  excitement  of  a  high  fever."  A  gentleman 
who  was  standing  by,  remarked,  "  I  was  not  aware, 
Mr.  M'Ginnes,  that  you  had  any  other  than  a  highly 
intellectual  fever  to-day." 

He  was  much  prostrated  after  this  for  several 
days,  but  the  chills  were  broken,  and  his  health  was 
gradually  improved  until  August,  when  he  had  a 
severe  attack  of  the  diarrhoea,  and  was  again  re- 
duced. Ever  anxious,  like  his  Divine  Master,  to 
*'be  about  his  Father's  business,"  and  hoping  that 
his  health  might  thereby  be  recruited  also,  he  took 
one  or  two  long  journeys  during  that  summer  to 
preach  the  gospel  in  destitute  places,  '^  the  regions 
beyond"  his  own  charge.  In  this  he  resembled  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  the  first  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly,  who  was  distinguished  for  a  liberal  and 
active  zeal  in  visiting  destitute  places,  and  not  con- 
fining himself  exclusively,  as  ministers  are  too  apt  to 
do,  to  his  own  highly-favored  charge.  Like  Paul, 
also,  he  could  say  that  he  would  not  "  boast  in  ano- 
ther man's  line  of  things  made  ready  to  his  hand." 

In  these  journeys,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  found,  what 
every  Western  minister  in  his  travels  doubtless  finds, 
and  what  should  lead  all  the  Eastern  churches  to  be 
"moved  with  compassion,"  and  to  "devise  liberal 
things"  for  their  distant  kindred  and  Christian 
brethren, — those  who  had  the  same  faith,  the  same 


48  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

Lord,  and  the  same  baptism,  "  scattered  abroad  as 
sheep  having  no  shepherd."  He  would  often  meet 
with  Presbyterians  who  had  emigrated  from  the  older 
States,  but  who  were  deprived  in  their  new  homes  of 
the  precious  privileges  of  the  sanctuary.  Not  unfre- 
quently  would  they  shed  tears  of  joy  when  they  heard 
that  he  was  a  Presbyterian  minister,  who  had  come 
to  preach  to  them  the  precious  truth  "  as  it  is  in 
Jesus;"  for,  like  David,  they  could  exclaim,  "How 
amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  Hosts  ! 
My  soul  longeth,  yea,  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of 
the  Lord.  My  heart  and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the 
living  God." 

The  gratification  our  brother  experienced  in  min- 
istering the  bread  of  life  to  these  hungering  souls 
was  so  great,  and  his  anxiety  to  do  good  so  intense, 
that  he  was  often  led  to  take  such  journeys,  and  to 
labor  far  beyond  his  strength.  But  he  was  thus  to 
be  taught  the  twofold  character  of  the  Christian's 
work  on  earth — that  it  is  not  only  to  do  but  also  to 
suffer  the  will  of  God. 

*'  Thine  utmost  counsel  to  fulfil, 
And  suflFer  all  tliy  righteous  will, 
And  to  the  end  endure." 

Paul  asked,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  T' 
and  the  Lord  soon  afterwards  said  concerning  him, 
"  I  will  show  him  how  great  things  he  must  suffer 
for  my  name's  sake."  Thus  it  was  with  Mr.  M'Gin- 
nes.     With   an   absorbing  desire  to  be  active  in  the 


HIS  LABORS  IX  THE  WEST.       49 

vineyard  of  his  Lord,  he  was  often  checked  in  his 
pious  efforts  by  impaired  health,  if  not  prostrated 
upon  a  bed  of  dangerous  illness.  It  has  been  well 
observed,  however,  that  ''  The  days,  when  a  holy 
pastor,  who  knows  the  blood-sprinkled  way  to  the 
Father,  is  laid  aside,  are  probably  as  much  a  proof 
of  the  kindness  of  God  to  his  flock,  as  days  of  health 
and  activity.  He  is  occupied,  during  this  season  of 
retirement,  in  discovering  the  plagues  of  his  heart ; 
and  in  going  in,  like  Moses,  to  plead  with  God  face 
to  face  for  his  flock,  and  for  his  own  soul." 

In  consequence  of  feeble  health,  Mr.  M'Ginnes 
was  not  in  haste  to  have  the  pastoral  relation  consti- 
tuted between  him  and  the  people  of  his  choice.  "\Ye 
find  that  he  labored  among  them  nearly  a  year  before 
his  ordination  and  installation  services  took  place. 
We  copy  the  following  from  a  record  made  by  him- 
self: "  I  was  ordained  and  set  apart  to  the  office  of  a 
bishop  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Peoria,  Illinois,  at  their  semi-annual  session 
in  Knoxville,  111.,  September  4th,  1841.  I  was  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lewis- 
town,  111.,  on  Saturday,  September  19th,  1841,  by 
Samuel  C.  M'Cune  and  Robert  Dobbins,  a  committee 
appointed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Peoria  for  that  pur- 
pose." Satisfactorily  and  permanently  settled,  as 
he  now  felt  himself  to  be,  over  a  beloved  flock,  he 
hoped  that  he  might  be  long  spared  to  go  in  and  out 
among  them,  to  lead  them  into  the  green  pastures  of 
the  gospel,  and  beside  the  still  waters  of  salvation. 


50  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.   Y.   m'GINNES. 

But  the  Lord  seeth  not  as  man  seeth.  "  A  man's 
heart  deviseth  his  way,  but  the  Lord  directeth  his 
steps." 

In  February,  1842,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  and  his  intimate 
friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Cune  of  Canton,  fifteen 
miles  from  Lewisto"^n,  had  made  arrangements  to 
exchange  pulpits  on  a  following  Sabbath.  They  ac- 
cordingly met  on  Saturday  at  a  half-way  house, 
dined,  and  went  to  their  respective  places  of  labor. 
They  preached  on  Sabbath,  and  on  Monday  morning 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  suddenly  taken  ill.  He  imme- 
diately started  for  home,  got  as  far  as  the  place  at 
which  he  dined  on  the  Saturday  previous,  but  was 
obliged  to  go  to  bed  there  for  a  while.  Mr.  M'Cune 
soon  arrived,  and  finding  his  friend,  by  this  time, 
somewhat  better,  he  returned  to  Lewistown  with  him. 
His  kind  physician  was  soon  by  his  side,  and  his 
disease  was  pronounced  to  be  the  bilious  pleurisy. 
So  aggravated  was  its  character  that  it  baffled  all 
efforts  to  remove  it  for  several  days.  His  people, 
who  were  devotedly  attached  to  him,  felt  the  deepest 
anxiety  about  him,  and  called  often  to  see  him. 
His  condition,  however,  was  so  precarious,  that  his 
physician  thought  it  prudent  to  deny  their  admission 
to  his  sick-room. 

But  the  trial  was  by  far  the  greatest  to  his  beloved 
wife.  It  appeared  to  her  as  if  she  must  soon  be  be- 
reaved of  her  dearest  earthly  object,  and  be  left  with 
an  infant  son  in  that  land  of  strangers.  On  the 
next  Sabbath  prayer  was  ofi'ered  in  the  church  in  his 
behalf.     On  Monday  his  esteemed  friend  came  from 


HIS    LxlBORS    IN    THE    WEST.  51 

Canton  to  see  him,  and  there  was  a  slight  change  for 
the  better.  On  Tuesday,  as  his  friend  was  preparing 
to  leave,  he  was  desired  to  pray  once  more  with  the 
family.  They  kneeled  around  the  bedside  of  the 
sick  man,  and  earnest  prayer  was  offered  that  all 
might  be  fully  resigned  to  the  will  of  God.  When 
they  arose  from  their  knees,  the  meek  sufferer,  taking 
his  beloved  partner  by  the  hand,  said,  "  My  dear 
E.,  are  you  resigned  ?     Oh,  it  is 

'  Sweet  to  lie  passive  in  his  hands, 
And  know  no  will  but  his.' 

That  feeling  is  mine.     I  wish  it  was  yours." 

But  God  says  through  an  inspired  apostle,  "  The 
effectual  fervent  pi;ayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much."  And  again,  by  the  mouth  of  one  of  his 
prophets,  "Before  they  call  I  will  answer,  and  while 
they  are  yet  speaking  I  will  hear."  And  all  this  is 
true,  notwithstanding  the  worldling  has  but  little  faith 
in  the  power  of  prayer ;  or  that  the  fatalist  will  con- 
tend that  God  is  too  great  and  too  highly  exalted, 
to  interrupt  any  of  his  infinite  and  eternal  arrange- 
ments, to  answer  requests  in  reference  to  the  petty 
accidents  of  human  life.  God's  purpose,  however, 
to  hear  and  to  answer  every  prayer  of  faith,  as  will 
be  most  to  his  own  glory,  and  most  to  the  welfare  of 
his  chosen  people,  and  to  make  all  the  arrangements 
of  his  providence  concur  in  such  answers,  is  just  as 
eternal  and  unchangeable,  as  his  purpose  in  reference 
to  any  other  event,  however  great,  in  the  wide  world. 


bZ  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M    GINNES 

His  people  here  prayed — 

"  Restore  liim,  sinking  to  the  grave, 
Stretch  out  thine  arm,  make  haste  to  save; 
Back  to  our  hopes  and  wishes  give, 
And  bid  our  friend,  the  pastor,  live." 

And  God  was  pleased  to  hear  their  fervent  cries,  and 
to  bless  the  means  used  for  the  restoration  of  their 
sick  pastor.  That  evening  there  was  a  decided  change 
for  the  better,  and  from  that  time  forward  he  con- 
tinued to  improve  daily. 

At  the  meeting  of  his  Presbytery  in  April,  Avhich 
he  was  not  yet  able  to  attend,  he  was  appointed  a 
delegate  to  the  General  Assembly  which  was  about  to 
meet  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  ahwiys  painful  for  him 
to  leave  his  congregation,  even  for  a  short  time,  but 
under  the  circumstances  the  path  of  duty  was  plain 
to  him  ;  he,  therefore,  speedily  made  arrangements  to 
start  with  his  family  and  visit  friends  and  home  on 
his  way  to  the  Assembly.  On  the  Sabbath  just  before 
he  left  he  preached  an  appropriate  discourse  from  2 
Cor.  xiii.  11:  "Finally,  brethren,  farewell,"  &c., 
which  has  not  yet  been  forgotten.  He  visited  home, 
attended  the  General  Assembly,  and  returned  to 
Hlinois  the  following  July. 

While  in  Pennsylvania,  many  friends  endeavored 
to  dissuade  him  from  going  back  to  the  West,  inas- 
much as  he  had  already  suffered  so  much  there  from 
bilious  attacks.  But  he  replied,  "  I  am  bound  to 
that  (Lewistown)  church  by  a  solemn  vow,  which  must 
not  be  broken  for  a  trivial  cause  ;"  and  he  hoped 


niS     LABORS     IN     THE     WEST.  06 

that  the  Lord  would  restore  his  health  and  permit 
him  to  labor  in  that  church  of  his  first,  his  earliest 
love. 

He  now  resumed  his  pastoral  labors  with  increased 
earnestness  and  zeal,  and  for  a  year  enjoyed  tolerably 
good  health.  He  did  not  labor  without  success : 
Zion  prospered  through  his  instrumentality  ;  but  his 
pious  soul  longed  for  an  extensive  work  of  grace 
among  his  people.  In  a  letter  to  his  father,  dated 
May,  1843,  he  says,  "I  feel  that  in  leaving  my 
father's  house  and  the  home  of  my  childhood,  I  am 
about  my  Master's  business.  And  much  as  I  love 
my  parents  and  friends,  I  could  not  sacrifice  duty  to 
pleasure.  Yea,  this  is  my  greatest  pleasure,  knowing 
that  I  have  left  behind  me  home,  and  all  the  endear- 
ments of  parental  kindness  and  paternal  love,  for  the 
Saviour's  sake.  The  Lord  forbid  that  I  should  mag- 
nify my  work,  but  I  do  magnify  my  ofiice.  And  I 
trust  that  I  have  not  altogether  run  in  vain,  neither 
labored  in  vain  ;  '  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God 
that  is  in  me.'  I  rejoice  to  hear  of  the  work  of 
grace  which  is  going  on  in  some  parts  of  the 
Eastern  church.  Has  Shippensburg  been  revived  ? 
Can  it  be  said  of  'this  man  and  of  that  man'  that 
they  have  been  born  unto  God  there  ?  It  is  a  time 
of  coldness  with  us  here.  The  Church  seems  to  be 
asleep.  We  want  the  breath  of  the  almighty  Spirit 
to  breathe  on  these  dry  bones,  or  all  will  come  to 
desolation.     Pray  for  us,  dear  parents,  that  the  word 

5- 


54  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

of  God  may  not  be  bound,  but  may  prosper  through 
our  instrumentality." 

About  this  time  his  health  again  became  feeble, 
and  the  warnj  ^veather  had  a  very  debilitating  effect 
upon  him.  After  preaching  he  would  be  quite  pros- 
trated, and  sometimes  was  compelled  to  omit  the 
afternoon  service.  He  often  lamented  his  want  of 
health.  He  would  say,  *'  Oh,  that  I  had  strength  to 
labor  as  I  desire  to  do.  The  service  of  Christ  is  a 
blessed  service.  The  spirit,  indeed,  is  willing,  but 
the  flesh  is  weak.  But  God  will  accept  according  to 
that  a  man  hath,  and  not  require  what  he  hath  not. 
Our  times  are  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  do  with  us  as- 
seemeth  to  him  good." 

In  September,  as  he  was  returning  one  evening 
from  a  pastoral  visit,  he  was  suddenly  seized  Avith 
cramp  or  bilious  colic,  and  with  difficulty  reached 
home.  His  skilful  physician  made  every  effort  to 
subdue  the  intense  pain,  but  did  not  for  several  hours 
succeed,  and  then  for  some  days  it  was  followed  by 
an  intermittent  fever,  which,  when  checked,  left  him 
exceedingly  weak.  One  day,  after  a  conversation 
with  the  doctor  and  Mr.  P.,  one  of  the  elders,  he 
said  to  his  wife,  "  My  dear  E.,  something  has  been 
troubling  me  for  several  months,  of  which  I  dreaded 
to  tell  you.  Three  years  ago  I  brought  you  here  a 
stranger,  with  the  prospect,  if  it  were  the  will  of 
God,  of  making  the  West  our  home  for  life.  You 
have  many  friends  here,  to  A\'hom  you  are  greatly 
attached,  and   in   whose   Christian   society  you  find 


HIS     LABORS     IX    THE     ■\yEST.  55 

much  enjoyment.  But  it  does  seem  to  me  as  though 
I  should  regard  this  late  attack  as  an  admonition  to 
seek  a  more  congenial  climate.  What  do  you  think 
about  it?  Does  it  send  a  pang  to  your  heart?" 
She  replied,  "  Oh  no  ;  ^vhither  thou  goest  I  will  go. 
Wherever  you  think  your  life  may  be  prolonged, 
there  let  us  go."  "Well,"  said  he,  "those  gentle- 
men who  have  just  left  coincide  with  me  that  the 
pure,  invigorating  air  of  our  native  state  will  suit 
my  constitution  best.  We  will  then  make  prepara- 
tion for  returning  home  this  fall,  and  it  may  be  that 
in  some  nook  or  corner  of  the  mountains  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Providence  will  permit  me  to  labor  a  little 
longer  for  his  glory,  and  for  the  advancement  of  his 
kingdom  on  the  earth."  They  accordingly  made 
arrangements  for  moving,  and  in  October  they  turned 
their  backs  upon  the  land  of  their  adoption  ;  and 
with  many  tears  bade  farewell  to  those  dear  friends 
in  Lewistown  who  had  become  endeared  to  them  by 
numberless  kind  offices,  and  by  heartfelt  sympathy 
in  their  afflictions  during  their  sojourn  among  them. 
Mr.  M'Ginnes's  farewell  sermon  is  said  to  have  been 
a  deeply  affecting  one.* 

*  The  following  tribute  to  his  memory,  from  the  pen  of  his 
physician,  Dr.  Rice,  who  is  also  a  ruling  elder,  is  in  place  here. 
He  writes :  "  He  was  regarded  by  all  as  an  able  and  devoted 
minister;  he  endeared  himself  to  all  with  whom  he  became  ac- 
quainted: and  his  church  and  congregation  watched  with  great 
anxiety  the  effect  of  the  climate  on  his  constitution.  Subject 
as  he  was  to  frequent  and  severe  bilious  attacks,  which  were 
induced  by  the  peculiarity  of  this  climate,  they  feared  he  would 


56  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

His  health  gradually  improved  while  upon  their 
journey,  and  the  following  winter  he  spent  among 
their  friends.  He  was  not  disposed,  however,  to  be 
idle,  but  frequently  preached,  and  with  great  accep- 
tance, too,  as  his  health  and  opportunity  permitted, 
for  his  ministerial  brethren  in  the  neighborhood, 
especially  for  the  Kev.  Mr.  Harper,  of  Shippensburg, 
in  whose  congregation  his  father  is  a  ruling  elder, 
and  for  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Kinley,  then  of  Chambers- 
burg,  and  once  he  visited  Danville,  Pennsylvania. 

HIS  SETTLEMENT  AT  SHADE  GAR 

A  SHORT  time  after  his  return  from  the  West,  when 
his  health  had  become  tolerably  good,  his  sister-in- 
law,  Mrs.  Brewster,  wrote  to  him  about  the  church 
at  Shade  Gap  being  vacant,  and,  inasmuch  as  he 
desired  a  location  in  a  mountainous  region,  she  had 
no  doubt  but  what  that  place  would  suit  him,  as  it 

be  obliged  to  remoYe  to  one  more  congenial  to  his  constitution 
than  this.  And  when  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  must 
remove  from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  all  were  satisfied  that 
such  was  his  duty;  yet,  at  the  same  time,  this  necessity  was 
regarded  as  a  mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence,  by  which 
his  charge  and  the  country  generally  were  to  be  deprived  of  the 
labors  of  one  peculiarly  adapted  to  this  field. 

"Although  his  stay  with  us  was  comparatively  short,  yet, 
when  the  time  came  that  he  must  be  separated  from  us,  it  was 
rendered  certain  that  he  had  a  hold  upon  the  affections  of  his 
people  which  could  not  be  sundered  without  a  painful  struggle, 
and  nothing  short  of  imperious  necessity  could  have  reconciled 
them  to  it." 


HIS    SETTLEMENT    AT     SHADE     GAP.         57 

was  a  very  healthy  neighborhood.  He  recollected 
the  place  very  well,  having  with  his  wife  passed  it  a 
few  days  after  their  marriage.  At  that  time,  the 
little  white  church,  one  store,  and  a  smith-shop,  with 
one  or  tv>'0  small  houses,  comprised  the  village  of 
Shade  Gap.  After  reading  his  sister-in-law's  letter, 
urging  him  to  visit  this  place  as  a  candidate,  he 
replied,  "  Is  thy  servant  a  dog  that  he  should  do  this 
thing  ?"  A  sister,  at  whose  house  he  made  that  reply, 
reminded  him  of  it  only  the  summer  before  his  death, 
when  he  laughed  heartily,  said  he  remembered  it 
well,  and  hoped  that  he  had  not  disgraced  the  place. 

In  the  spring  of  1844  he  moved  with  his  family  to 
Shippensburg.  As  the  weather  became  warm,  his 
dyspepsia,  with  which  he  was  sorely  troubled,  became 
much  worse.  He  dieted  most  rigidly,  but  without 
any  apparent  benefit.  He  looked  very  feeble,  felt 
unfitted  to  engage  in  any  mental  exercise,  and  was, 
at  times,  owing  to  the  state  of  his  health  and  pros- 
pects, much  depressed  in  mind.  About  this  time, 
the  Rev.  James  Harper,  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  Chester, 
D.D.,  called  to  see  him.  After  the  usual  salutations 
had  been  exchanged,  Dr.  Chester  inquired,  "  And 
what  doest  thou  here,  Elijah?"  Mr.  M'Ginnes  re- 
plied in  a  tone  of  regret,  "Ah,  my  harp  is  unstrung ; 
it  is  suspended  upon  the  willows ;"  and  then  told  how 
God  had  led  him. 

But  the  Doctor's  question  awakened  a  train  of 
serious  reflections.  That  evening,  when  Mr.  M'Gin- 
nes sat  down  to  read,  previous  to  his  holding  family 


68  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M    GINNES. 

worship,  he  asked  himself  the  same  question,  "  And 
■what  doest  thou  here,  Elijah?"  and  answered,  "I 
am  sure  I  had  no  desire  to  come  here.  If  it  had 
been  the  Lord's  will,  I  could  have  lived,  labored, 
and  spent  my  days  in  the  West.  I  think  in 
coming  here  I  was  but  following  the  leadings  of  his 
providence.  Did  he  not  say  unto  me,  as  to  Jacob 
of  old,  '  Return  unto  thy  country  and  to  thy  kindred, 
and  I  will  deal  well  with  thee  ?'  It  has  often  been 
a  relief  to  my  mind  to  think  that  I  have  not  brought 
this  upon  myself,  but  have  been  pursuing  the  path 
God  in  his  providence  seemed  to  indicate.  But,  per- 
haps, I  have  done  wrong.  This  question  has  aroused 
me.  I  know  not  but  that  if  I  make  an  effort  to  labor 
once  more  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  needed 
strength  will  be  afforded."  And  in  his  prayer  that 
night,  at  the  family  altar,  he  prayed  most  earnestly, 
"  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  Show  me 
the  path  of  duty.  Oh,  that  it  may  be  made  plain, 
and  that  I  may  have  strength  to  pursue  it." 

Just  at  this  time  the  congregation  at  Shade  Gap, 
anxiously  desiring  a  pastor,  and  hoping  to  be  able 
to  secure  the  services  of  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  extended  to 
him  a  cordial  invitation  to  visit  them.  In  a  letter 
addressed  to  him  by  the  Session,  urgently  requesting 
his  labors  among  them,  they  say,  "  You  could  hardly 
imagine  the  anxiety  and  wish  the  people  here  have  for 
you  to  become  their  pastor."  Another  letter  was 
now  received  from  his  sister-in-law,  in  which  she 
again  urged  him   to  pay  her  a  visit.     Living  a  few 


HIS    SETTLEMENT    AT    SHADE    GAP.        59 

miles  north^Yest  of  Shade  Gap,  in  an  adjoining  con- 
gregation, she  said,  he  might  call  at  Shade  Gap  and 
leave  an  appointment,  and  preach  there  upon  his 
return.  Accordingly,  a  few  Sabbaths  after,  we  find 
him  there  in  the  pulpit  of  the  old  church.  "  His 
impressions  upon  the  congregation  git  his  first  visit 
to  the  Shades,"  writes  one  of  the  Session,  ''  were 
very  favorable."  Having  preached  two  Sabbaths 
for  that  people,  he  received  a  unanimous  call  to  be- 
come their  pastor.  He  accepted  it  so  far  as  to  con- 
sent to  supply  their  pulpit  regularly,  and  commenced 
his  labors  there  in  October.  Himself  and  family 
were  received  by  that  congregation  with  the  greatest 
kindness  ;  and  he  was  much  gratified  and  encouraged, 
in  witnessing  a  growing  interest  upon  the  subject  of 
religion  and  an  enlarged  attendance  upon  the  means 
of  grace. "^ 

But  he  did  not  remain  long  there  unnoticed  and 
uncalled.     He  had  been  recommended  as  a  suitable 

*  Previous  to  his  going  there  the  most  of  the  congregation 
•were  in  titter  ignorance  of  the  wants  of  the  heathen  world.  The 
subject,  probably,  had  seldom  been  mentioned  by  either  of  their 
former  pastors.  Mr.  M'Qinnes,  therefore,  adopted  the  plan,  at 
once,  of  holding  the  monthly  concert  of  prayer  upon  the  first 
Sabbath  of  each  month  immediately  after  sermon ;  and  in  addi- 
tion to  his  own  remarks  he  would  often  read  suitable  extracts 
from  the  Missionary  Chronicle.  The  -first  collection  that  had 
ever  been  taken  up  in  that  church  for  missions  was  taken  up  on 
the  first  Sabbath  of  January,  1845.  Mr.  McGiniles  had  preached 
a  missionary  sermon  from  the  words,  "  0  Lord,  revive  thy  work," 
and  the  collection  amounted  to  §17,  which,  considering  all  the 
circumstances,  was  thought  to  be  very  encouraging. 


60  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.   Y.    m'GINNES. 

person  to  supply  the  vacant  pulpit  in  the  church  at 
Danville,  Pa.,  and  in  February,  1845,  he  received  an 
invitation  from  the  Session  of  that  church  to  preach 
for  them  as  a  stated  supply,  with  a  view  to  a  call  as 
their  pastor,  in  which  they  offered  him  more  than 
double  the  salary  he  was  to  receive  at  Shade  Grap, 
where  he  had  not  as  yet  been  installed.  He  was 
afraid,  however,  that  he  would  be  subjected,  at  Dan- 
ville, to  the  ague  again,  and  he  therefore  felt  it  to 
be  his  duty  to  decline  the  invitation. 

''  According  to  the  good  pleasure"  and  "  purpose  of 
Him  who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will,"  the  "beloved  disciple"  must  be  banished 
to  the  Isle  of  Patmos  before  he  should  be  able  to  re- 
veal to  the  Church  the  three  grand  periods  of  her 
future  history.  A  dreary  prison  was  the  place  as- 
signed to  John  Banyan  in  which  to  sketch  his  im- 
mortal Pilgrim.  So  our  lamented  brother  must  be 
removed  from  the  wide  mart  of  influence,  from  the 
crowded,  bustling,  thriving  town,  to  serve  God  and 
the  Church  most  effectively  in  the  quiet,  solitary  re- 
treat of  Shade  Gap ;  there  to  stamp  his  own  name 
with  imperishable  honor,  and  to  bless  the  world  with 
the  institutions  of  his  own  creative  genius. 

After  laboring  a  year  as  stated  supply  for  the 
people  of  Shade  Gap,  his  health  being  somewhat  im- 
proved, at  the  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Hunting- 
don, held  in  West  Kishacoquillas,  October  8th,  1845, 
he  presented  his  letter  of  dismission  from  the  Pres- 
bytery   of    Peoria,    and    having    been   received   by 


IMPROVEMENTS  —  THE    PARSONAGE.        61 

the  Presbytery  of  Huntingdon,  he  accepted  the  call 
from  the  "  Little  Aughwick  Congregation,"  at  Shade 
Gap,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  installed  pastor  of 
that  congregation  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Jardine  and 
Collins,  a  committee  of  Presbytery  appointed  for 
that  purpose.  He  now  took  charge  of  this  flock, 
"  over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  him  an 
overseer,"  with  fresh  determination  to  devote  to  it 
his  best  energies  for  its  enlargement,  edification,  and 
consolation.  And  God  permitted  him  richly  to  see 
that  neither  were  his  purposes  nor  efi"orts  in  vain. 
He  shared  largely  in  the  aifections  and  confidence  of 
his  people.  His  ministrations  were  well  attended 
and  highly  acceptable,  and  a  new  impulse  for  good 
was  imparted  to  the  whole  community. 

IMPROVEMENTS— THE    PARSONAGE— A    NEW 
CHURCH— AN  ACADEMY. 

The  language  of  the  prophet  for  the  comforting  of 
the  Gentile  church  may  here  be  used  :  ^'  Enlarge  the 
place  of  thy  tent,  and  let  them  stretch  forth  the 
curtains  of  thy  habitations  ;  spare  not,  lengthen  thy 
cords,  and  strengthen  thy  stakes  ;  for  thou  shalt 
break  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left ;  and 
thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  Gentiles,  and  make  the 
desolate  cities  to  be  inhabited." 

The  day-star  had  already  arisen  upon  the  quiet 
village  of  Shade  Gap.  The  morning  had  dawned. 
The   streaks  of  light  were  following  each  other  in 


62  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

rapid  succession,  along  the  eastern  horizon  ;  and  the 
smiling  sun  was  just  about  to  arise  in  splendor. 
This  retired  spot  was  now  to  take  rank  among  the 
more  cheerful  and  favored  portions  of  our  beloved 
land.  Science  and  literature,  as  well  as  religion, 
were  in  future  to  flourish  here.  Not  only  must  there 
be  an  enlarged  and  a  more  commodious  house  of  wor- 
ship erected  to  meet  the  growing  wants  of  Zion,  and 
a  convenient  home  secured  for  the  comfort  of  the 
minister  and  his  family  ;  but  a  literary  institution 
also,  of  no  inferior  order,  must  arise,  from  which 
should  constantly  issue  streams  that  would  make 
glad  the  city  of  God — that  would  cause  "  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  solitary  place  to  be  glad  for  them,  and 
the  desert  to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose." 

Our  brother,  with  a  heart  of  gratitude  to  God  for 
special  grace  and  mercy  often  bestowed,  had  no  dis- 
position to  indulge  himself  in  ease  or  luxury  ;  but  if 
he  had  a  moment  of  leisure  time  it  was  his  purpose 
to  employ  it,  with  whatever  talents  God  had  given 
him,  to  the  best  advantage,  as  a  good  steward  of  the 
manifold  grace  of  God. 

"During  the  winter  of  1846,"  says  a  corre- 
spondent, "  the  practicability  of  establishing  an  aca- 
demy was  much  talked  of;  but  a  new  church  was 
desired  in  the  first  place,  and  also  a  parsonage."  As 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  and  his  family  were  without  a  shelter 
of  their  own,  while  there  was  a  tolerable  place  of 
worship,  the  "Parsonage"  was  the  first  thing  that 
claimed  attention.     So  David  dwelled  in  his  "  house 


IMPROVEMENTS  —  THE     PARSONAGE.        63 

of  cedar"  before  he  made  provision  to  build  the 
Lord's  house,  when  the  ark  of  God  rested  in  the 
tabernacle  only,  or  "within  curtains." 

In  the  spring  of  1847,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  commenced 
to  build  the  neat  and  convenient  cottage  in  which 
his  family  still  dwell.  The  lot  upon  which  the  build- 
ing stands  was  a  present  from  Mr.  Blair,  one  of  the 
ruling  elders  in  that  congregation.  In  a  letter  of 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  to  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Hillman,  dated 
February  5th,  1847,  after  speaking  of  the  proba- 
bility of  the  projected  Central  Railroad  passing 
through  Shade  Gap,  as  that  route  had  already  been 
surveyed,  and  of  his  intention  to  build  a  house  in 
the  suburbs  of  the  village,  he  says,  "  But  you  will, 
perhaps,  say,  it  is  foolish  to  build  here,  and  live  in 
this  secluded  spot,  amidst  the  mountains,  when  you 
might  secure  a  more  eligible  situation.  True,  but 
the  reasons  which  have  determined  me  on  this  course, 
are  the  following.  1st,  The  prospect  of  an  increase 
in  the  population  by  the  advantages  of  the  projected 
railroad.  2d,  My  congregation  are  not  willing  to 
let  me  go,  and  therefore  they  have  raised  my  salary 
somewhat.  They  have  also  promised  to  build  a  house 
for  me,  which  is  to  be  my  oiun  property  without 
costing  me  very  much,  having  already  given  the 
ground  for  a  site,  and  subscribed  liberally  towards 
the  erection  of  a  house.  Besides,  I  am  doing  good 
here,  and  immortal  souls  are  as  precious  at  Shade 
Gap  as  at  any  other  place.  And,  if  it  pleases  God, 
I  would  be  as  willing  to  go  to  heaven  from  this  place, 


64  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'GINNEP. 

surrounded  by  tliose  saved  by  my  instrumentality,  as 
from  the  wealthiest  church  in  the  city.  Fifty  years 
hence,  it  will  matter  but  little  where  we  have  been 
located,  provided  we  have  been  found  faithful,  devoted 
and  useful.  And  in  all  probability  as  long  as  I  re- 
ceive a  competent  support  here,  I  will  remain,  for  if 
God  has  sent  me  here,  as  I  believe  he  has,  no  light 
matter  will  induce  me  to  leave." 

At  the  time  the  cottage  was  building,  Mr.  M'Gin- 
nes  lived  a  mile  from  the  village.  He  often  walked 
down  twice  a  day  to  see  the  work ;  and  the  deep  in- 
terest he  felt  in  its  progress,  together  with  the  direct 
effort  he  was  himself  required  to  make,  were  of  very 
great  benefit  to  his  health.  Often  he  would  say, 
''  This  is  the  most  effectual  remedy  I  ever  tried  for 
dyspepsia.  I  find  mine  is  vanishing."  He  was 
greatly  assisted  in  his  efforts  by  the  congregation. 
Some  furnished  lumber;  others  lime,  nails,  and  glass; 
while  others  again  did  the  hauling.  The  mechanics 
labored  at  a  lower  rate  than  usual,  and  as  his  family 
boarded  the  workmen,  they  often  received  presents 
of  provisions  that  were  highly  acceptable. 

Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine 
of  a  special  divine  providence,  for  the  supply  of  his 
temporal  as  well  as  of  his  spiritual  wants.  He  knew 
that  the  God  who  fed  Elijah  at  the  brook  Cherith, 
by  the  ravens,  could  as  readily  feed  him  and  his ; 
that  he  who  makes  all  nature  as  well  as  every  needed 
grace  minister  to  the  wants  of  his  chosen,  would 
never  suffer  him  to  want  any  good  thing  while  he 


I  :M  P  R  0  V  E  M  E  N  T  S 

put  his  trust  in  him.  So  he  was  taught  to  believe 
by  the  Psalmist,  "  0  fear  the  Lord,  ye  his  saints ; 
for  there  is  no  want  to  them  that  fear  him.  The 
young  lions  do  lack,  and  suffer  hunger;  but  they 
that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want  any  good  thing. 
I  have  been  young,  and  now  am  old ;  yet  have  I  not 
seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  seed  begging 
bread."  The  follovfing  is  an  instance  of  his  faith. 
One  morning  as  he  was  about  leaving  home  to  visit 
the  building,  he  said  to  his  wife,  "  There  will  be  an 
increased  number  of  hands  here  to-day."  She  re- 
plied, that  she  was  perplexed  then  to  know  how  she 
should  prepare  a  dinner  for  them,  as  she  was  in  want 
of  some  necessary  articles.  He,  smiling,  said,  "Be 
not  faithless,  but  believing.  The  Lord  will  provide  ;" 
and  thus  left  her  apparently  "  doubting  nothing." 
And  so  it  was,  for  while  his  wife  was  taxing  her  in- 
genuity to  prepare  a  meal  of  such  things  as  she  had, 
two  ladies  of  the  congregation  came  to  visit  them, 
and  brought  the  very  articles  that  were  so  much 
needed.  When  Mr.  M'Ginnes  returned  home  (the 
dinner  was  always  carried  to  the  workmen)  he  said 
"  Well,  Eliza,  you  thought  that  you  would  have  but  a 
spare  dinner  to-day  for  your  workmen,  but  you  had 
a  great  abundance."  His  wife  then  told  him  how  it 
had  been  furnished.  He  replied,  "  Well,  does  not 
that  serve  to  strengthen  your  faith?" 

The  building  went  up  rapidly,  and  in  the  following 
October  the  trusting,  grateful,  and  happy  family 
were  permitted  to  move  into  it.     A  few  sabbaths  be- 

6* 


66  LIFE    OF    EEV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

fore  they  moved,  as  they  were  returning  from  church, 
while  passing  and  looking  at  the  building,  almost 
ready  for  their  reception,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  inquired  of 
his  wife  what  she  was  thinking  about.  He  said  he 
wished  to  contrast  their  thoughts.  She  replied,  that 
just  then  she  was  thinking  of  those  two  lines  of  the 
102d  Psalm  which  they  had  sung  at  church — 

"  Those  ruins  shall  be  built  again, 
And  all  that  dust  shall  rise." 

He  remarked  hoW  very  different  his  thoughts  were. 
The  words,  ^' Arise  ye,  and  depart  hence,  for  this 
is  not  your  rest,"  he  said,  were  sounding  in  his  ears. 
"Well,"  continued  he,  "if  in  the  abundant  mercy 
of  God  we  are  permitted  to  enter  our  new  dwelling, 
we  will  take  God  with  us.  Let  it  be  our  resolution, 
that  as  for  us  and  our  house  we  will  serve  the  Lord. 
Who  knows  but  that  this  may  be  the  place  from 
which  we  shall  be  summoned  to  ascend  to  the  mount 
of  God." 

But  although  our  brother  was  in  a  retired  spot,  as 
already  intimated,  he  was  known  abroad.  "  He 
could  not  be  hid."  Scarcely  had  he  entered  his  new 
home  before  he  was  again  beckoned  away.  That 
very  month,  if  not  the  very  week,  that  he  took  pos- 
sesion of  the  Parsonage,  a  letter  was  addressed  to 
him  from  an  inviting  congregation  in  the  Carlisle 
Presbytery,  desiring  his  labors  among  them  as  a 
candidate  for  settlement.  The  Presbyterian  pulpit 
at  Greencastle  was  now  vacant  by  the  resignation  of 


IMPROVEMENTS  —  THE  NEW  CHURCH.  67 

the  Rev.  T.  V.  Moore.  And  as  Mr.  M'Ginnes  had 
been  favorably  recommended  to  them,  and  a  strong 
desire  manifested  on  the  part  of  many  to  hear  him 
preach,  when  that  pulpit  was  before  vacant,  so  that 
desire  now  became  general  when  the  pulpit  was  again 
vacant.  Accordingly,  a  letter  was  addressed  to  him 
in  October,  informing  him  of  the  fact ;  and  a  speedy 
answer  not  being  received,  a  second  letter  was  ad- 
dressed to  his  father,  urging  him  to  make  inquiry 
upon  the  subject,  at  the  same  time,^tating  the  high 
estimation  in  which  his  son  was  held.  But  Mr. 
M'Ginnes  could  not  see  his  way  clear  to  accept  the 
invitation. 

A  few  months  later  he  received  another  call.  So 
great  reputation  had  he  earned  during  his  brief 
sojourn  in  Illinois,  that  his  fame  had  spread  abroad 
in  all  that  country.  In  a  letter  dated  March  4th, 
1848,  the  Session  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Peoria,  one  of  the  most  prominent  situations  in  the 
State,  extended  to  him  a  warm  invitation  to  visit 
their  vacant  pulpit.  But  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
decline  this  invitation  also. 

Settled,  therefore,  in  his  own  new  home,  we  find 
his  active  and  benevolent  soul  devising  "  liberal 
things"  for  the  Lord.  His  previous  anxiety  for  a 
new  house  of  religious  worship  now  returned  with 
increased  longings.  He  could  not  rest  satisfied  to 
dwell  in  his  "  ceiled"  house,  while  the  house  of  the 
Lord  lay  "waste."  He,  therefore,  aided  by  a  willing 
and  zealous  people,  whose  "  spirit  the  Lord  stirred 


68  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

up,"  set  to  work  earnestly  to  build  the  Lord's  house, 
that  he  might  '^  take  pleasure  in  it"  and  *'  be  glorified" 
thereby.  The  cheering  result  was  that,  in  the  fol- 
lowing summer,  a  well-proportioned  and  very  com- 
fortable brick  church  was  dedicated  to  the  service  of 
Almighty  God,  and  a  classical  school  was  immediately 
after  started  in  the  old  church  building.  Thus  were 
the  three  grand  objects  desired, — a  parsonage,  a  new 
church,  and  an  academy,  well-nigh  secured. 

But  amidst  all  these  improvements  our  brother  was 
not  to  be  left  uncalled.  He  must  amidst  trials  known 
only  to  himself  and  his  family,  as  well  as  amidst 
much  outward  success,  settle  another  question  in 
casuistry,  and  one  of  even  more  difiiculty,  from  both 
its  greater  responsibility  and  encouragement  than 
any  that  had  preceded  it. 

In  consequence  of  the  Rev.  L.  W.  Green,  D.D., 
having  accepted  a  call  to  the  presidency  of  Hampden 
Sidney  College,  Virginia,  the  pulpit  of  the  second 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Baltimore  became  vacant, 
and  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  thought  to  be  a  very  suitable 
man  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Accordingly,  in  November, 
1848,  a  letter  from  that  congregation  was  forwarded 
him  asking  whether  he  would  be  willing  to  preach 
one  or  two  Sabbaths  for  them  as  a  candidate.  x\nd 
an  immediate  reply  not  being  received,  as  in  the  case 
of  Greencastle,  another  letter  was  addressed  to  his 
father,  making  inquiries  about  his  son,  and  expressing 
the  high  regard  they  had  for  him.  But  he  was  com- 
pelled to  decide  this  question,  as  he  had  done  similar 


IMPROVEMENTS  —  THE    NEW    CHURCH.      69 

previous  ones,  in  the  negative.  The  difficulty  of  so 
deciding  will  appear  evident  when  we  understand 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  decision  was 
made. 

The  amount  of  salary  promised  Mr.  M'Ginnes  at 
Shade  Gap  was  §300  per  year,  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  receiving  $100  additional  from  the  Board  of 
Missions.  He  also  had  liberty  to  preach  occasionally 
at  Fort  Littleton,  about  twelve  nliles  distant.  He, 
however,  seldom  spent  a  whole  Sabbath  there,  but 
would  preach  once  a  month  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon 
in  the  summer,  and  at  night  in  the  winter.  The 
people  there  made  up  a  small  sum,  of  about  §20  for 
his  support.  He  received,  without  opposition,  the 
first  two  years  of  his  labors  at  Shade  Gap,  the  §100 
that  was  expected  from  the  Board  of  Missions  ;  but 
the  third  year  there  were  some  objections  made  by 
the  Presbytery  to  this  amount  being  continued,  inas- 
much as  the  Board  was  embarrassed  for  want  of  funds, 
and  as  it  was  thought  that  the  church  at  Shade  Gap 
should  now  sustain  itself.  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  however, 
plead  hard  for  it,  and  the  §100  was  granted.  But 
the  next  year,  the  Presbytery  refused  to  ask  any  ap- 
propriation from  the  Board  for  him.  He  arose  and 
said  to  his  brethren  that  if  they  were  unwilling  to 
petition  the  Board  in  his  behalf  he  should  feel  it  to 
be  his  duty  to  resign  his  charge  as  soon  as  he  reached 
home.  And  after  reconsidering  the  matter,  Pres- 
bytery agreed  to  ask  an  appropriation  of  §7o  for 
him  that  year. 


70  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

He  did  not,  it  is  believed,  again  desire  aid  from 
the  Board,  for  he  resolved  in  the  providence  of  God, 
if  possible,  after  this  to  sustain  himself;  and  his 
prospects  in  this  respect,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel, 
were  destined  to  brighten.  But  one  of  the  adminis- 
trators of  his  property,  who  is  well  acquainted  with 
this  whole  matter,  says  he  is  confident  that  Mr. 
M'Ginnes  never,  during  the  four  years,  received  more 
than  $250  per  year  from  his  congregation,  and  that 
mostly  in  produce,  so  that  the  money  he  received 
from  the  Board  was  very  nearly  all  that  he  handled. 

Now  let  it  be  remembered,  that  it  was  just  at  the 
commencement  of  his  fourth  year  of  labor  at  Shade 
Gap,  and  just  after  he  had  struggled  so  hard  in 
Presbytery  to  have  a  mere  pittance  added  to  his 
salary,  that  he  might  be  enabled  to  keep  his  growing 
family  from  want,  that  he  received  the  invitation 
from  the  Second  Church  at  Baltimore,  where  a  salary 
of  $1800  was  offered;  and  who  would  have  thought 
otherwise  than  that  he  would  answer  in  the  affirma- 
tive— yet  he  sends  a  negative  reply. 

When  he  received  this  invitation,  in  view  of  their 
present  limited  circumstances,  his  wife  said  to  him, 
"  That  is  a  temptation."  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  and  for 
your  sake  I  would  be  tempted  to  go  there,  or  some- 
where else,  where  you  would  not  be  subjected  to  so 
many  privations  as  we  must  ever  expect  here  ;  but 
then  this  poor,  frail  tenement  would  soon  break 
down  under  the  arduous  labors  of  a  city  pastor." 
Their  relatives  and  friends  were  very  kind  to  them, 


M  I  L  N  W  0  0  D     A  C  A  D  E  M  Y.  71 

but  in  order  to  meet  all  their  increasing  liabilities 
they  were  required  to  exercise  the  most  rigid  economy. 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  often  remarked,  "Our  only  luxury 
is  contented  minds  and  the  prospect  of  usefulness  in 
the  sphere  in  which  our  lot  is  cast." 

MILNWOOD  ACADEMY. 

Under  the  fostering  care,  popular  manners,  and 
energetic  control  of  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  the  little  classi- 
cal school  soon  increased  in  numbers,  character,  and 
influence. 

It  started  in  the  fall  of  1848,  in  the  old  church, 
with  two  students,  which  was  the  entire  number 
taught  for  nearly  three  weeks ;  but  before  the 
session  closed  there  were  twenty-two  in  attendance, 
nine  of  whom  were  boarders.  The  second  term 
there  were  about  forty,  and  the  third  term  there 
were  upwards  of  fifty,  and  in  this  proportion  they 
continued  to  increase  until  the  number  reached 
eighty. 

A  more  suitable  school-room  than  the  one  at  first 
occupied,  and  a  building  to  accommodate  boarders  also, 
soon  appeared  to  be  necessary.  Accordingly,  to  an- 
swer both  these  purposes,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  secured  by 
a  company  of  stockholders,  in  1849,  the  erection  of  a 
large  stone  building,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  "The 
Milnwood  Academy."  The  part  occupied  as  a  school- 
room had  desks  in  it  sufficient  to  accommodate  about 
forty  students,  but  as  the  session  advanced  they  had 


72  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GIXNES. 

to  get  a  new  desk  made  every  few  days,  so  that  be- 
fore that  session  closed  Mr.  M'Ginnes  found  he 
would  have,  as  he  said,  "  to  enlarge  the  borders  of  his 
tent."  He  must  either  build  a  new  school-room  and 
make  preparation  to  accommodate  all  that  would  come, 
or  he  must  announce  to  the  public  that  he  could  only 
take  a  limited  number.  He  resolved  upon  the  former 
course,  and  with  considerable  effort,  in  1850,  a  large 
and  convenient  "recitation-room,"  54  feet  long  and 
36  feet  wide,  was  built ;  and  the  former  building 
was  used  exclusively  as  a  boarding-house.  Still,  en- 
couraged from  the  number  of  enthusiastic  and  ad- 
miring youth  that  crowded  around  him,  in  1851  he 
was  under  the  necessity  of  putting  up  still  another 
building  to  accommodate  them  with  suitable  sleeping 
apartments. 

So  much  had  he  been  encouraged  from  the  begin- 
ning, that  he  felt  himself  under  the  necessity  not  only 
of  increasing  the  number  of  suitable  buildings,  but  also, 
of  enlarging  the  number  of  good  instructors;  having 
from  the  first  associated  with  him  his  brother,  John 
Henry  Wilson,  and  afterwards,  as  occasion  required, 
having  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  S.  Campbell  and 
Messrs.  D.  M'Kinney  and  R.  H.  Morrow,  both  of 
the  latter  being  regularly  graduated  at  Jefferson  Col- 
lege; and  had  our  brother's  life  been  spared  he  had 
serious  thoughts  of  enrolling  "Milawood  Academy" 
among  the  worthy  colleges  of  our  land. 

It  is  truly  astonishing  to  see  how,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  this  one  man,  such  a  change  had  been  wrought 


MILNWOOD     ACADEMY.  73 

in  the  whole  appearance  and  prospects  of  Shade  Gap 
in  so  short  a  time ;  and  how  a  literary  institution,  from 
such  a  small  beginning,  should  so  soon  rise  to  such 
commanding  greatness ;  and  that,  too,  while  at  the 
same  time  its  founder  was  faithfully  engaged  in  the 
discharge  of  pastoral  duties  sufficient  to  occupy  any 
common  man's  time.  An  intelligent  gentleman  re- 
marked to  the  author  that  the  character,  property, 
and  prospects  of  Shade  Gap  had  advanced,  during 
the  brief  sojourn  of  Mr.  M'Ginnes  there,  as  much 
as,  if  not  more  than,  they  would  have  done,  in  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  in  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 

The  following  is  one  expression  of  public  opinion, 
out  of  many  given,  in  regard  to  the  location  and 
value  of  Milnwood  Academy.  It  is  extracted  from 
a  cheering  account  given  of  the  first  exhibition  in 
that  institution,  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Huntingdon 
Journal,  under  date  of  September  18th,  1849.  He 
says  :  "  Through  your  valuable  paper,  I  write  to  in- 
form its  many  readers  of  an  institution  which  has 
lately  sprung  up  in  our  county,  and  one  of  which 
the  county  can  be  justly  proud, — Milnwood  Aca- 
demy, in  Dublin  Township.  It  is  located  at  the  base 
of  Shade  Mountain,  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Tusca- 
rora,  whose  elevation  is  so  high  and  the  air  so  pure, 
that  chills  and  fevers  are  unknown  to  any  of  the  inha- 
bitants in  the  vicinity  of  this  young  institution  of 
learning.  The  people,  too,  of  that  portion  of  our 
county  which  surrounds  Milnwood  are  a  church- 
going  people ;  are  industrious  and  hospitable  ;  and 


74  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

possessing  a  high  moral  tone  they  will  compare  well 
with  the  citizens  of  any  other  part  of  the  county. 
Such  are  the  people  with  which  the  youth  instructed 
in  this  institution  will  have  to  associate.  The  Aca- 
demy is  conducted  by  the  Rev.  J.  Y.  M'Ginnes,  who 
is  bland  and  courteous  in  his  deportment,  possesses 
indomitable  energy,  and  is  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
and  learned  preachers  belonging  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  Professor  J.  H.  W.  M'Ginnes  is  learned, 
dignified,  and  courteous.  Under  such  instructors, 
parents  and  guardians  may  expect  a  high  degree  of 
mental  and  moral  training.  In  this  I  feel  they  will 
not  be  disappointed." 

But  the  ministerial  and  pastoral  responsibilities  of 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  increased  as  well  as  his  academical 
labors. 

In  October,  1849,  the  Rev.  George  Gray,  through 
age  and  infirmity,  resigned  his  pastoral  charge  of  the 
Upper  Tuscarora  Congregation,  about  twelve  miles 
distant  from  Shade  Gap.  The  people  of  that  charge 
immediately  desired  Mr.  M'Ginnes  to  labor  there 
the  one-half  of  his  time,  and  they  subscribed  towards 
his  support  $225  per  year.  He  acceded  to  their  re- 
quest for  one  year,  his  own  people  reluctantly  giving 
their  assent,  and  some  of  them  even  spoke  of  reduc- 
ing their  own  subscriptions  one-half  in  consequence. 
To  this  he  objected.  He  said  that  his  personal  and 
family  expenses  were  constantly  increasing,  and  that 
if  his  people  did  so  reduce  their  subscriptions  he 
could  not  live  among  them.     And  Brice  Blair,  Esq., 


MI  LN  WOOD    ACADEMY.  75 

one  of  the  administrators,  says  that  the  books  have 
shown  that  he  did  not  receive  more  than  $350  from 
both  churches  that  year — commencing  October,  18J:9, 
and  ending  October,  1850. 

Just  here  there'came  another  letter  from  abroad, 
to  interrupt  his  home  thoughts  and  efforts,  and  if 
possible  to  call  him  hence. 

The  Presbyterian  church  at  Wooster,  Ohio,  is  des- 
titute of  the  labors  of  a  pastor,  and  a  letter  dated 
November  30th,  1849,  assures  him  of  the  fact,  and 
states  moreover  that  he  has  been  recommended  as  a 
man  whose  talents  would  suit  them.  Wooster  is  de- 
scribed as  being  in  the  heart  of  a  fine  country,  is 
said  to  be  a  healthy  place,  a  growing  town,  to  pos- 
sess an  intelligent  community,  and  to  embrace  a 
large  number  of  Pennsylvanians.  The  church,  it  is 
stated,  offers  a  very  competent  salary;  and  there  is, 
especially,  a  large  field  of  ministerial  usefulness,  and 
the  prospect  of  doing  much  for  the  glory  of  God. 

But  all  these  considerations  did  not  seem  sufficient  to 
induce  the  least  wavering  in  his  mind  about  changing 
his  field  of  labor.  It  was  not  the  will  of  his  heavenly 
Father  that  he  should  be  placed  upon  one  of  the  high 
towers  of  Zion.  A  more  humble  post  seemed  to  be 
assigned  him,  yet  one  not  less  effective  ;  for  here  he 
would  gather,  as  it  were  into  a  bright  and  burning 
focus,  rays  that  would  warm  and  bless  multitudes  far 
away.  He  was  here  developing  intellectual  and  moral 
energy,  that  would  be  felt  tenfold  more  upon  the 
broad  field  of  the  world,  than  any   such  energy  he 


7G  LIFE    OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

could  himself  impart  to  the  best  congregation  in  our 
land:  and  this  is  just  what  he  said  to  his  wife  when 
he  received  the  invitation  from  the  church  at  Woos- 
ter.  He  then  remarked  that  he  thought  he  might  be 
as  useful,  if  not  more  so,  where  he  was,  raising  up 
men  to  labor  in  the  West  where  he  could  not,  than 
to  be  settled  in  the  best  congregation  in  Ohio.  He 
has  also  been  heard  to  say  when  solicited  to  leave 
Shade  Gap,  that  he  never  wished  to  leave  there  until 
he  could  leave  that  congregation  in  such  a  state,  that 
thej  would  have  no  difficulty  in  getting  a  pastor,  and 
then  he  would  go  to  some  destitute  field,  for  he  did 
not  wish  to  build  on  any  other  man's  foundation. 

At  the  close  of  his  first  year  of  labor  in  the  Upper 
Tuscarora  congregation  he  desired  to  cease  his  labors 
there ;  but  the  people  urged  him  so  strongly  to  give 
them  one-third  of  his  time,  if  he  could  give  them  no 
more,  promising  to  contribute  for  his  support  the 
same  they  had  done  before,  that  he  consented  to  do 
so  for  another  year,  if,  in  the  mean  time,  they  would 
endeavor  to  get  a  pastor.  He  felt  confident  that  all 
his  own  time  was  demanded,  and  that  all  his  energies 
might  very  readily  be  exhausted  at  Shade  Gap. 

Mr.  M'Ginnes's  settlement  at  Shade  Gap,  was  for 
the  sake  of  neither  worldly  gain  nor  honor ;  but  be- 
cause of  the  providence  of  God  pointing  out  plainly 
the  path  of  duty.  And  Milnwood  Academy  was  not 
founded  from  any  inferior  motive ;  but,  in  faith  and 
prayer,  that  it  might  advance  the  cause  of  sound 
education,  and  be  instrumental  in  training  up  some 


MILNAVOOD     ACADEMY.  77 

beloved  youth  for  the  sacred  ministry ;  and  God  has 
set  his  seal  of  approbation  to  the  motive  in  both 
cases,  by  crowning  the  labors  of  his  servant  with 
abundant  success. 

In  October,  1850,  during  the  interval  of  school, 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  held  a  communion  season  at  Shade 
Gap,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes.  The  meeting 
was  an  interesting  one.  On  the  Sabbath  following, 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  absent  fulfilling  a  regular  appoint- 
ment at  the  Lower  Church ;  a  prayer  meeting  was 
held  at  the  Academy,  and  but  seven  persons  at- 
tended. When  Mr.  M'Ginnes  returned  and  learned 
the  fact,  he  felt  exceedingly  grieved,  and  mentioned 
it  in  the  church  the  next  time  he  preached  there. 
He  lamented  that  so  many  who  had  just  been  at  the 
Lord's  table,  could  so  readily  absent  themselves  from 
the  prayer  meeting,  which,  he  said,  w^as  the  pulse  of 
the  Church,  and  it  showed  them  to  be  in  a  sad,  sad 
state  indeed.  He  then  urged  professing  Christians 
to  pray  for  the  reviving  influence  of  God's  Spirit, 
to  descend  upon  them.  A  few  Sabbaths  afterward 
he  preached  from  the  words,  "Be  watchful,  and 
strengthen  the  things  which  remain,  that  are  ready 
to  die,"  Rev.  iii.  2,  and  from  that  time  he  was  impor- 
tunate in  his  prayers  both  in  the  church  and  in  the 
family  for  a  revival  of  true  religion.  With  great  ear- 
nestness did  he  plead  with  God  :  "Hast  thou  not  a 
blessing  in  store  for  us,  0  our  Father  ?" 

During  that  winter  he  was  much  gratified  in  wit- 
nessing a  growing  seriousness  among  some  of  the 

7* 


78  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

young  men  of  the  Academy  ;  and,  at  their  next  com- 
munion season,  -which  occurred  in  March,  1851,  this 
seriousness  was  very  manifest.  The  Lord  God  had 
now  evidently  come  down  to  dwell  among  them. 
The  Rev.  David  Sterrett,  an  evangelical  and  pungent 
preacher,  was  assisting  at  these  services.  As  the 
meetings  progressed  religious  feeling  deepened,  until 
tears  were  seen  to  flow,  and  sobs  became  audible. 

Mr.  Sterrett  left  on  Tuesday  morning.  An  in- 
quiry-meeting was  held  that  day  in  Mr.  M'Ginnes's 
study.  Five  of  the  young  men  came  out  of  the 
school  and  followed  him  to  his  study,  to  be  conversed 
and  prayed  with.  On  the  next  day,  at  the  same 
hour,  the  number  was  doubled,  and  at  night  there 
was  a  still  larger  number.  On  Thursday,  Mr. 
M'Ginnes  had  his  parlor  opened,  and  at  the  hour 
appointed  about  thirty  persons,  all  of  whom,  except 
one,  were  students,  assembled  as  anxious  inquirers 
after  salvation.  At  one  of  these  meetings,  taking 
each  student  by  the  hand,  he  said,  "  Oh,  boys,  you 
could  do  nothing  that  would  give  me  more  pleasure, 
than  by  thus  showing  your  anxiety  about  your  souls' 
salvation  !" 

*'It  was  truly  a  solemn  time,"  writes  Mrs.  M'Gin- 
nes. "  When  my  dear  James  came  out,  after  the 
meeting  was  dismissed,  he  blessed  God  that  some  of 
them  were  cherishing  a  hope  in  Christ.  He  spoke 
of  the  momentous  responsibility  of  the  situation  in 
which  he  was  placed,  fearing  lest  some  word  he 
should  drop   might  give  a  downward   tendency   to 


MILNWOOD    ACADEMY.  79 

some  precious  soul.  He  also  said  that  his  strength 
was  failing  from  excessive  fatigue,  and  he  hoped 
that  Brother  Hawes  would  come  to  his  aid."  His 
wife  replied,  "  My  dear  husband,  the  Lord  will  direct 
you  and  strengthen  you."  *' Yes,"  said  he,  "he  is 
doing  it.  Oh  !  I  would  not  exchange  the  happiness 
of  this  hour  for  the  whole  universe !  The  results  of 
this  meeting  will  not  be  fully  known  until  that  day 
when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  made  mani- 
fest." 

That  night,  as  they  were  preparing  to  retire,  a 
noise  was  heard  as  if  some  one  were  in  distress,  but, 
upon  going  to  the  door,  it  was  discovered  to  be  the 
voice  of  earnest  prayer  echoing  from  the  mountain- 
sides. "Oh!"  said  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  "there  is  my 
encouragement !  Is  not  that  the  sweetest  of  earthly 
sounds  ?"  The  voice  was  one  well  known,  and  for 
several  successive  evenings,  at  the  same  hour,  it 
echoed  from  the  same  hallowed  spot.  "Let  us 
pray,"  said  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  "that  these  may  be  but 
the  mercy-drops  which  precede  the  approaching 
shower.  I  trust  the  good  influence  will  extend 
throughout  this  whole  congregation  and  community. 
How  many  baptized  youth  are  there  here  whom  I 
should  rejoice  to  see  becoming  sharers  in  this  glo- 
rious work  of  grace.  I  have  labored  in  revivals  of 
religion  before,  both  with  pleasure  and  profit,  but, 
oh  !  this  is  soul-cheering,  to  have  one  here  in  this 
part  of  God's  heritage,  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
hath  made  me  overseer.      And  those   dear   young 


80  LIFE    OF     REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

men,  oh !  I  hope  that  many  of  them  will  become 
chosen  vessels,  set  apart  for  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Indeed,  I  feel  assured  that  such  will  be  the  case ; 
and  what  human  mind  can  calculate  the  amount  of 
influence  they  may  wield  ?  It  will  tell  upon  the 
world — it  will  tell  in  eternity.  Not  unto  us — not 
unto  us,  but  to  thy  name,  blessed  Redeemer,  be  all 
the  glory.  It  is  honor — glory  enough  for  us,  to  be 
the  instruments  of  accomplishing  so  good  a  work, — 
to  be  the  rod  in  the  hands  of  the  prophet  by  which 
the  flinty  rock  has  been  smitten.  How  thankful  am 
I  that  Brother  Sterrett  was  able  to  come  at  this 
time.  It  would  seem  as  if  a  blessing  attended  his 
preaching  wherever  he  goes.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
now  evidently  with  us  to  bless  our  labors,  and  oh, 
that  he  may  continue  with  us,  for  if  we  should  grieve 
him  away  from  our  midst,  then  '  all  will  come  to 
desolation.'  " 

What  was  said  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Cheyne  in  regard 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burns's  successful  ministrations  in 
his  charge  during  his  absence  to  the  land  of  Israel, 
can  as  truly  be  said  of  Mr.  M'Ginnes  in  reference 
to  the  above  interesting  season  in  his  own  charge. 
"  He  had  no  envy  at  another  instrument  having  been 
so  honored,  in  the  place  where  he  himself  had  labored 
with  many  tears  and  temptations.  In  true  Christian 
magnanimity  he  rejoiced  that  the  work  of  the  Lord 
was  done  by  whatever  hand."  He  could  say  with 
Moses,  "  Send  by  whom  thou  wilt  send." 

"At  the  close  of  that  session   of  school,"  writes 


MILNWOOD     ACADE'MY.  81 

one  of  the  students,  "  which  will  be  ever  remembered 
on  account  of  the  unusual  degree  of  religious  feeling 
manifested,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  called  us  into  the  school- 
room for  the  purpose  of  giving  us  his  parting  advice. 
He  exhorted  us  to  be  his  living  epistles,  known  and 
read  of  all  men  ;  and  urged  us  not  to  let  the  good 
impressions  which  we  had  received  wear  away,  but 
to  continue  steadfast  unto  the  end,  so  that,  at  the 
day  of  judgment,  he  might  be  enabled  to  say,  ^  Here, 
Lord,  am  I,  and  those  whom  thou  hast  given  mc'  " 

Since  his  death,  it  has  been  ascertained  that 
sixteen  young  men  were  at  that  time  hopefully  con- 
verted to  God,  and  eight  of  that  number  are  looking 
forward  to  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  It  is 
also  known  that  four  other  persons,  previous  to  this 
time,  who  were  prosecuting  their  studies  in  the  Aca- 
demy, were  led  by  his  influence,  under  Providence, 
to  study  for  the  ministry.  Some  of  these,  it  is  hoped, 
"will  become  ^'  burning  and  shining  lights"  upon  the 
walls  of  Zion,  as  was  the  case  with  Chrysostom,  Am- 
brose, and  Calvin,  who  were  all  led  to  become  "  am- 
bassadors for  Christ,"  by  the  urgency  of  God's  minis- 
ters and  people. 

Mr.  M'Ginnes's  example  is  a  noble  one  for  imita- 
tion. "  Go  and  do  thou  likewise."  "  They  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness,"  either  immediately  by  their 
own  personal  application,  or  mediately  through  efforts 
made  to  raise  up  a  living  ministry,  to  exert  a  health- 
ful influence  upon  others,  "shall  shine  as  the  stars 
for  ever  and  ever." 


82  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  him,  but  which  he  did  not 
live  to  peruse,  dated  Fairfield,  Jefferson  County, 
lowa^  September  2d,  1851,  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Cune 
appropriately  says,  ''  We  are  beginning  now  to  see 
some  of  the  designs  of  our  superintending  Father,  in 
keeping  you  among  the  mountains,  instead  of  calling 
you  to  blow  the  trumpet  at  Peoria,  and  in  the  coasts 
thereof;"  and  again,  "If  it  had  been  the  Master's 
adorable  will,  many,  as  well  as  myself,  would  have 
rejoiced  in  enjoying  your  presence  and  labors  in  this 
field,  which  is  itself  a  world ;  but  who  knows  that 
He  is  not  employing  you  there,  in  a  comparatively 
unknown  nook  of  this  world,  to  originate  and  manage 
agencies  that  will  ultimately  wield  a  mighty  influence 
on  the  religious  destinies  of  this  infant  sister  state. 
God  grant  that  it  may  be  so  !  And  what  a  thrilling 
retrospect  you  may  enjoy  from  the  judgment  bar, 
and  the  home  of  the  redeemed  !" 

Mr.  M'Ginnes's  last  work  in  behalf  of  "Milnwood 
Academy,"  was  the  preparing  of  a  catalogue  of  its 
teachers  and  students,  which  he  completed  and  sent 
to  be  printed  on  the  last  Monday  of  his  life. 

HIS  LAST  SICKNESS  AND  DEATH. 

The  summer  session  of  Milnwood  Academy  now 
opens,  and  it  is  to  be  one  that  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Shade  Gap,  or  by  that  youthful, 
interesting  band  gathered  together  in  those  halls  of 
science  and  religion.     It  will  ever  be  one  of  sorrow- 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND     DEATH.         83 

ful  and  jet  of  joyful  memory.  "  Knowest  thou  that 
the  Lord  will  take  away  thy  master  from  thy  head 
to-day?"  might  here  have  been  asked  the  pupils  of 
Milnwood  Academy,  as  it  was  asked  Elisha  of  old. 
It  was  to  be  even  so,  but  they  did  not,  like  Elisha, 
know  it,  though  they  might  have  conjectured  and 
feared  it,  from  their  beloved  principal's  unceasing 
activity,  his  excessive  labors,  and  his  wasting  physical 
strength. 

The  Academy  went  on  "swimmingly,"  as  he  wrote 
on  a  former  occasion,  to  his  intimate  friend,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  M'Cune.  The  third  new  building,  already 
alluded  to,  was  now  in  process  of  erection,  to  accom- 
modate the  large  number  of  students  who  had  flocked 
to  him  from  every  quarter.  The  last  session  that 
was  to  share  in  his  faithful  oversight,  paternal  affec- 
tion, and  importunate  prayers,  started  with  brighter 
hopes  than  any  that  had  preceded  it.  His  ardent 
desire  had  been  granted  in  his  being  permitted  to  see 
the  work  of  the  Lord  revived  in  their  midst;  his  be- 
loved Academy  sharing  in  the  blessed  influences  of 
it ;  and,  as  the  glorious  result,  a  number  of  the  pre- 
cious youth  devoting  themselves  to  the  ministry  of 
God's  dear  Son. 

And  the  Academy,  in  other  respects,  was  very 
flourishing  ;  its  temporal  interests  were  highly  pros- 
perous. Blessed,  therefore,  beyond  any  former  time, 
both  in  his  church  and  in  his  Academy,  both  in  tem- 
poral and  in  spiritual  things,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  he  enters  upon  the  new  session  with  the  most 


84  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

buoyant  anticipations  of  accomplishing  more  for  God 
and  for  his  fellow-men,  than  he  had  ever  done  before. 
So  his  "  heart  was  fixed."  But  God  designs  that  his 
people  shall  glorify  him,  not  only  actively,  but  pas- 
sively, in  their  death  as  well  as  in  their  life.  And 
He  himself  will  ever  wisely  direct  as  to  how  his  glory 
shall  be  most  effectually  promoted. 

Amidst  the  full  return  of  old  students  and  the  large 
increase  of  new  ones  at  the  beginning  of  this  term, 
the  solemnity  of  the  precious  season  that  had  just 
passed  was  not  forgotten.  But  while  it  had  a  tran- 
quillizing and  hallowed  influence  on  all  hearts,  the 
former  students  seemed  to  enter  upon  their  duties 
with  the  expectation  that  this  would  be  to  them  a 
better  session  than  any  they  had  ever  spent  there 
before.  Such,  no  doubt,  was  the  case,  but  how  dif- 
ferent were  the  providences  of  God  from  what  they 
anticipated.  But  so  man  is  always  disappointed 
when  he  builds  upon  the  uncertainties  of  time.  God 
says,  "My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither 
are  your  ways  my  ways." 

This  was  to  be  a  session  in  which  long-cherished 
hopes  would  be  blighted,  warm  affections  buried,  and 
Ichabod  written  by  many  upon  those  once  loved  seats 
of  learning.  It  w^as  to  be  a  time  of  darkness,  death, 
and  of  the  most  heartfelt  sadness ;  "  a  dav  of  dark- 
ness  and  of  gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  of  thick 
darkness,  as  the  morning  spread  upon  the  moun- 
tains." 

In  the  month  of  May,  an  annual  orator,  according 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.  85 

to  custom,  was  desired  to  address  the  Philo  and 
Franklin  Literary  Societies  of  Jefferson  College, 
Pennsylvania,  at  their  approaching  commencement, 
on  August  5th,  1851.  Among  other  names,  that  of 
the  Rev.  James  M'Ginnes  was  proposed,  and  the 
character  he  had  already  earned  for  himself,  and 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  at  his  early 
age,  may  be  easily  gathered  from  the  fact  that  he 
was  elected  almost  unanimously,  he  receiving  forty- 
eight  votes,  and  the  opposing  candidate,  the  Rev.  N. 
L.  Rice,  D.D.,  of  Cincinnati,  but  five  votes.  His 
election,  under  such  circumstances,  was  certainly  very 
flattering. 

A  few  Sabbaths  before  he  left  for  Canonsburg,  he 
preached  from  Hebrews  xii.  12,  13,  "Wherefore  lift 
up  the  hands  which  hang  down,"  &c.  As  his  wife 
was  prevented  from  attending  church  that  day,  he 
thought  she  might  be  both  gratified  and  profited  by 
a  perusal  of  his  sermon,  and  be  also  an  instrument  of 
good  to  others  ;  so  he  handed  her  his  sermon  to  read, 
and  then  desired  her  to  take  it  over  and  read  it  to 

Mrs.  F ,  an  estimable   Christian  lady,  who  was 

just  recovering  from  a  dangerous  illness,  and  whose 
spirits  were  much  depressed.  His  wife  said,  "  Per- 
haps she  will  think  me  a  Sabbath  visiter."  "  No," 
said  he,  "  tell  her  I  have  sent  you  to  preach  to  her, 
whilst  I  go  across  the  valley."  When  he  returned, 
he  inquired  of  his  wife  how  she  had  succeeded  with 
the  sermon  ?  She  replied,  "  Very  well ;  and  that  the 
lady  had  sent  him  many  thanks  for  affording  her  an 

8 


86  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M    GINNES. 

opportimity  of  hearing  a  sermon  so  suitable  to  her 
case." 

"Well,"  said  he,  "I  knew  that  she  would  appre- 
ciate my  motive  in  sending  you."  And  thus  he  tried 
to  have  a  good  word  of  the  gospel  for  every  one, 
being  "instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,"  embra- 
cing opportunities  of  doing  good  when  offered,  and 
seeking  them  out  when  not  presented,  "that  he 
might  by  all  means,  save  some." 

On  Tuesday,  previous  to  his  going  to  Canonsburg, 
he  had  an  attack  of  cholera  morbus,  and  kept  his  bed 
until  evening.  On  Wednesday  he  was  much  engaged 
all  day,  and  looked  care-worn  and  feeble  ;  but,  as 
usual,  was  cheerful.  At  one  time  coming  into  the 
house,  he  said  to  his  wife,  "  Why  so  sombre,  eh, 
dear  ?"  and  then  rallied  her  about  wearing  a  long 
face.  She  replied  that  she  thought  him  very  unfit 
to  travel  in  his  present  state  of  health ;  that  she  was 
afraid  he  would  be  sick  by  the  way.  "  There,"  said 
he,  "  you  are  borrowing  trouble.  You  must  not 
anticipate  evil ;  ^  sufficient  unto  the  day,  is  the  evil 
thereof.'  It  is  true,  I  am  weak,  very  weak  to-day, 
but  you  know  that  journeying  always  improves  my 
health  ;  and  I  anticipate  also  a  great  deal  of  pleasure 
from  a  visit  to  Canonsburg.  I  have  hosts  of  friends 
to  welcome  me  there,  and  it  will  do  me  good  to  tra- 
verse the  old  walks  once  more;  and  see  those  old 
familiar  faces." 

His  wife  strove  that  evening  to  be  cheerful,  but 
the  next  day  when  he  was  about  to  leave,  she  found 


HIS     LAST     SICKNESS    AND     DEATH.         87 

that  he  partook  of  her  sad  feelings ;  still  he  endea- 
vored to  keep  up  her  spirits.  He  said  that  he  could 
not  account  for  her  depression,  as  he  had  often  taken 
longer  journeys,  and  been  absent  longer  than  he  ex- 
pected to  be  at  this  time.  Then  in  prayer,  he  com- 
mitted himself,  his  wife  and  children,  to  God,  and 
prayed  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  return  and  bless 
his  household.  He  desired  his  wife  to  write  to  him 
by  the  next  mail,  then  took  his  leave  of  them  all,  and, 
it  being  noon,  went  immediately  over  to  the  Academy. 
All  the  students  accompanied  him  to  the  coach, 
and  as  he  took  his  seat  they  heartily  cheered  him,  in 
view  of  the  distinguished  honor  that  had  been  con- 
ferred upon  him,  by  the  literary  societies  of  Jeffer- 
son College,  to  which  he  replied, 

"  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise, 
Act  well  your  parts,  and  there  the  honor  lies." 

He  reached  Canonsburg  in  safety,  and  was  de- 
lighted to  receive  the  cordial  welcome  of  so  many 
warm  hearts,  and  to  participate  in  the  social  and 
literary  festivities  of  the  occasion. 

The  5th  of  August  was  a  "high  day"  at  Jef- 
ferson College,  embodying  a  rich  "  feast  of  reason 
and  flow  of  soul."  Mr.  M'Ginnes  acquitted  himself 
well  in  the  discharge  of  his  own  duties.  His  ad- 
dress, though  prepared  amidst  much  bodily  infirmity, 
and  under  a  pressure  of  both  pastoral  and  academi- 
cal labors,  gave  general  satisfaction.  "  It  was  listened 
to,"  said  one  of  the  auditors,  "with  profound  in- 
terest."    The  Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  the  President  of  the 


05  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M    GINNES. 

College,  writes,  •"  His  address  was  received  with  great 
and  universal  favor."  His  subject  was,  "  The  Spirit 
of  the  Covenanters."  As  Jefferson  College  is  lo- 
cated in  the  midst  of  many  Covenanters  and  Seceders 
of  intelligence  and  sterling  moral  character,  who 
have  ever  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  institu- 
tion, the  subject  was  a  verj  timely  one,  and  particu- 
larly acceptable  to  a  large  portion  of  the  audience. 
It  was  handled  with  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  usual  eloquence 
of  diction,  fervency  of  spirit,  and  energy  of  delivery, 
and  exhibits  no  little  thought  and  research.  On  the 
day  following,  he  received  the  congratulations  of 
several  of  his  ministerial  brethren,  on  the  happy 
choice  and  treatment  of  his  subject. 

But  now,  farewell,  ye  classic  halls,  ye  rural  scenes, 
ye  sacred  retreats,  ye  honored  ones,  ye  long-cherished 
friends,  for  ever  farewell  ! 

Mr.  M'Ginnes's  work  at  Canonsburg  being  done, 
his  last  act  of  love  and  good  will  to  his  "  Alma 
Mater"  being  completed,  he  hastened  homeward.  He 
was  absent  ten  days.  He  reached  home  on  Saturday 
evening,  but  a  poisoned  arrow  had  winged  its  way  to 
his  heart.  He  had  felt  symptoms  of  dysentery  on 
the  Thursday  preceding,  when  in  Pittsburg,  and  had 
procured  and  taken,  alternately,  some  rhubarb  and 
opium  to  alleviate  his  pain. 

When  he  took  the  cars  at  Johnstown,  his  pain  was 
so  great  that  he  thought  he  would  be  obliged  to  stop 
there.  "But  then,"  said  he  to  his  wife  afterwards, 
"  I  thought  of  my  own  happy  home,  and  of  your  dis- 


HIS     LAST     SIC  KX  ESS     AND     DEATH.  89 

appointment,  if  I  did  not  come.  And  the  desire  to 
reach  home  was  so  great  that  it  nerved  me  for  the 
effort,  and  I  came  on,  although  I  had  several  parox- 
ysms of  most  severe  pain  between  this  and  the  river." 

His  worthy  physician  was  immediately  sent  for, 
and  under  providence,  succeeded  in  checking  the 
disease  on  Sabbath  afternoon.  A  great  many  per- 
sons having  met  for  church  that  day  called  to  see 
him.  He  expressed  his  regret  that  he  was  not  able 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  them ;  and  to  a  number  he 
said  that  he  was  thankful  that  God  had  permitted 
him  to  return  home  to  be  sick.  Thus  was  the  very 
first  Sabbath  after  his  return,  for  which  both  himself 
and  his  people  had  longed,  as  about  to  be  one  of 
mutual  interest,  marked  with  disappointment  and 
sorrow,  ominous  only  of  still  deeper  gloom. 

But  for  wise  ends  the  sovereign  Jehovah,  in  the 
execution  of  his  unalterable  decrees,  often  disappoints 
the  expectations  of  his  short-sighted  and  erring  crea- 
tures. "  A  man's  heart  deviseth  his  way,  but  the 
Lord  directeth  his  steps."  His  love,  however,  can 
no  more  fail  his  people,  than  his  wisdom  can  err  in 
the  appointment  of  their  lot ;  so  that  blessed  at  all 
times  are  they  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 

Once,  when  Mr.  M'Ginnes  thought  that  he  was 
alone,  he  said,  "  Oh,  let  me  die  among  my  kindred." 
On  Monday  he  was  better,  and  whilst  his  wife  was 
sitting  by  his  bedside,  he  felt  much  disposed  to  talk 
over  past  occurrences.  He  spoke  of  the  way  in 
which  Providence  had  led  them  since  their  first  ac- 

8* 


90  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

quaintance.  "  Surely,"  said  he,  "  we  have  abundant 
cause  for  gratitude  to  God  for  all  his  goodness 
towards  us.  But  how  unworthy  are  we  of  the  least 
of  those  mercies.  Like  Jacob  of  old,  with  our  staff 
we  passed  over  this  Jordan  (meaning  the  time  of  their 
marriage) ;  but  now  we  have  become,  not  two  bands, 
such  as  Jacob  had,  for  they  were  separate  bands,  but 
five  bands  (referring  to  their  children),  to  bind  us 
more  closely  together.  Like  Jacob,  too,  then  we  had 
not  a  spot  which  we  could  call  our  own ;  now,  in  the 
good  providence  of  God,  we  have  a  comfortable  habi- 
tation and  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  with  *  contented 
minds,  which  are  a  continual  feast.'  " 

He  then  spoke  of  the  Academy  and  its  surrounding 
buildings,  and  remarked  that  those  lines  of  the  102d 
Psalm,  which  Mrs.  M'Ginnes  had  quoted,  as  they 
passed  along  there  before  moving,  were  prophetic. 
"If  the  dust,"  continued  he,  "is  not  rising,  the 
stones  and  mortar  are;"  and  then  added,  "Persons 
who  have  been  born  in  the  lap  of  ease  cannot  enter 
into  the  feelings  of  those  who  find  themselves  ad- 
vanced without  any  designs  formed  by  their  friends, 
or  expectations  indulged  in  by  themselves.  Let  us 
ever  cherish  Jacob's  disposition,  and  be  thankful  to 
God  who  hath  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we 
are  glad." 

His  health  continued  to  improve  gradually,  and 
on  Wednesday  he  was  again,  for  part  of  the  day,  in 
the  school. 

Doctor  Shade,  his  family  physician,  writes,  "  Dur- 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.  91 

ing  my  acquaintance  with  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  his  bad 
health  was  mostly  referable  to  a  functional  derange- 
ment of  the  liver,  attributed  by  him  to  frequent  obsti- 
nate bilious  attacks,  under  which  he  had  labored 
while  in  Illinois.  His  nervous  system  was  severely 
implicated.  In  the  latter  part  of  June,  or  the  early 
part  of  July,  preceding  his  death,  he  was  attacked 
by  violent  diarrhoea,  which  under  treatment  appeared 
to  yield,  but  recurred  from  time  to  time  with  con- 
siderable intensity,  so  much  so  that  he  was  advised  to 
abandon  the  hope  of  visiting  Canonsburg  in  August, 
as  he  contemplated  doing.  But  about  this  time  his 
disease  put  on  a  flattering  aspect,  and  giving  him 
thereby  a  few  days  of  immunity  from  suffering  in 
which  to  prepare  his  address  for  the  College,  he  em- 
braced the  opportunity.  After  having  made  prepa- 
ration, although  his  symptoms  had  grown  worse,  he 
started  for  Canonsburg,  and  immediately  plunged 
into  the  exciting  scenes  of  a  college  commencement, 
which,  although  they  served  to  sustain  him  for  the 
moment  by  their  stimulus,  were  followed  by  fearful 
reaction.  He  returned  home  with  his  disease  a^crra- 
vated  twyfold,  having,  as  he  informed  me,  suffered 
more  or  less  from  it  during  his  whole  absence.  In  a 
few  days,  however,  rest  and  medical  treatment  were 
successful  again  in  ameliorating  his  disease,  but  it 
was  only  an  amelioration.  His  diarrhoea  still  con- 
tinued, alternating  occasionally  with  severe  consti- 
pation, not  however  sufficiently  aggravated  to  keep 
him  confined.     On  the  contrary,  he  was  actively  en- 


92  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

gaged  in  his  usual  duties  until  a  few  days  previous 
to  his  death." 

The  Sabbath  following  he  was  able  to  preach  to 
his  people,  and  during  that  week  Professor  Williams, 
of  Jeiferson  College,  arrived  at  Shade  Gap,  with 
the  intention  of  delivering,  by  request,  a  course  of 
lectures  on  the  Natural  Sciences,  to  the  students  of 
Miln wood  Academy.  As  the  Professor  lectured  every 
evening,  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  although  suffering  with  a 
lingering  pain,  exerted  himself  to  have  the  students 
attend  and  improve  those  lectures,  in  which  he  was 
himself  deeply  interested. 

On  Sabbath,  August  24th,  which  was  his  last  Sab- 
bath on  earth,  he  attended  the  Sabbath-school  and 
the  Bible  class  before  the  hour  for  public  service  had 
arrived,  and  afterwards  preached  an  impressive  dis- 
course from  2  Cor.  xii.  10,  "When  I  am  weak,  then 
am  I  strong."  Professor  Williams  spoke  in  high 
terms  of  this  sermon.  Said  another,  in  reference  to 
it,  immediately  after  its  delivery,  "  It  seemed  to  me 
as  if  Mr.  M'Ginnes  would  ascend  from  there — the 
pulpit — to  heaven;"  and  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  heard 
to  say,  "Oh  !  I  felt  in  the  spirit  of  preaching  that 
day  !  This  poor  body  of  flesh  and  blood  was  weak 
and  tottering,  but  I  was  strong  in  spirit.  Oh  !  if  I 
could  always  feel  as  I  then  felt,  it  would  be  easy  to 
preach.  The  service  of  Christ  is  a  blessed  service  ; 
I  would  spend  and  be  spent  in  it !" 

He  was  very  much  exhausted  by  this  efi'ort,  and 
after   taking   some  refreshment,  he  said  to  his  wife 


niS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.  93 

that  he  would  lie  down,  and  if  he  should  fall  asleep, 
she  should  arouse  him  at  four  o'clock,  as  he  had  an 
appointment  to  preach  at  five  o'clock  at  the  house  of 
a  widow  lady  about  three  miles  distant.  His  wife 
endeavored  to  dissuade  him  from  going,  he  appeared 
so  weak  and  languid.  She  writes,  "  I  know  not  of 
any  time  in  my  life  that  I  tried  so  much  to  get  him 
to  give  up  an  appointment.  To  induce  him  to  do 
so,  I  told  him  I  would  ask  the  children  their  ques- 
tions, and  it  would  encourage  them  to  have  his  ap- 
proving smile,  as  he  seldom  heard  them  recite."  "  It 
is  all  true,"  said  he :  "  my  time  is  so  taken  up  with 
public  duties,  that  the  care  of  the  family  devolves 
upon  you.  But  you  know  that  I  always  enforce 
obedience  to  your  wishes.  I  hope  it  will  not  always 
be  thus.  I  shall  have  more  time,  I  trust,  after 
awhile,  to  assist  you  in  training  our  little  ones. 
Those  two  churches  and  the  Academy  are  more, 
almost,  than  I  can  attend  to.  You  have  your  little 
'  church  in  the  house,'  and  that  small  book,  of  this 
title,  by  the  Rev.  James  Hamilton,  that  I  purchased 
a  few  days  ago,  I  got  for  your  benefit.  You  know 
my  motto  is,  Duty  before  loleasure.  It  would  be  plea- 
sant to  remain  with  you  and  the  little  doves  this 
afternoon,  but  it  is  ray  duty  to  go  and  preach  to  that 
old  lady,  as  she  is  unable  to  get  out  to  church.  So 
do  you  go  now  and  instruct  the  children,  and  perhaps 
I  will  be  somewhat  refreshed  by  sleep."  He  was 
awakened  at  the  time  he  desired.  He  went,  preached, 
and  returned  that  night. 


94  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'GINNES. 

On  Monday  he  felt  very  unwell,  but  spent  a  part 
of  the  day  in  school.  On  Tuesday  afternoon,  he 
visited  an  elder  of  his  church  who  was  very  ill,  about 
two  miles  distant,  and  thought  himself  most  decidedly 
worse  ever  after.  When  he  returned  in  the  evening, 
he  said  to  his  wife,  that  he  did  not  know  why  it  was 
that  he  had  had  a  lingering  pain  ever  since  he  had 
the  dysentery,  and  that  riding  home  pretty  fast  had 
aggravated  it.  He  said  he  would  go  to  the  lecture, 
and  if  the  pain  was  not  better  soon,  he  would  take 
something  for  it.  The  lecture  that  evening  was  upon 
astronomy.  He  was  quite  enraptured  with  it,  said 
it  was  sublime,  and  regretted  very  much  that  his 
wife  had  not  enjoyed  it  with  him.  He  said  he  thought 
that  he  felt  as  Paul  did  when  he  said,  "  whether  he 
was  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body,  he  could  not  tell," 
and  then  added,  "  The  Professor  was  so  grand  and 
beautiful  in  his  descriptions,  that  I  felt  as  if  I  was 
soaring  away  amid  the  bright  stars.  I  shall  now 
study  astronomy  with  greater  delight  than  ever. 
But,"  continued  he,  "this  pain  has  been  increasing 
within  the  last  half  hour.  We  will  use  some  hot  fo- 
mentations, and  if  they  do  not  relieve  it,  we  will  send 
for  the  Doctor."  The  thing  was  done  as  he  directed, 
and  he  fell  asleep,  and  slept  comfortably  until  one 
o'clock,  when  he  awoke  suddenly,  and  said  that  the 
pain  had  returned  with  increasing  violence.  The 
Doctor  was  immediately  sent  for,  but  was  found  to 
be  absent,  and  he  was  not  expected  home  until  noon 
the  next  day. 


niS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.         95 

On  Wednesday,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  confined  to  the 
house,  but  felt  able  to  sit  up  during  the  afternoon, 
and  enjoy  the  company  of  Professor  Williams.  That 
evening,  for  the  last  time,  he  sat  at  the  table,  and  took 
tea  with  his  family,  and  never  did  he  look  more  joyful 
than  upon  that  occasion.  Professor  Williams  and 
he  were  led  by  his  little  daughters  to  the  table,  and 
there  he  spoke  affectionately  of  the  endearments  of 
home,  and  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  in 
"setting  the  solitary  in  families." 

After  tea  he  ventured  out  to  hear  a  lecture  upon 
chemistry.  At  the  close  of  which  Professor  Wil- 
liams made  a  short  address  to  the  students,  and  ex- 
pressed his  gratification  that  that  institution,  which 
was  so  flourishing,  was  under  the  care  of  an  old  friend 
of  his,  and  he  wished  it  continued  prosperity.  To 
this  Mr.  M'Ginnes  replied,  and  thanked  the  Professor 
for  coming  to  impart  instruction  to  his  pupils.  This 
was  the  conclusion  of  his  out-door  career. 

When  he  returned  home  he  felt  discouraged  about 
his  prospects,  for  his  symptoms  were  quite  unfavor- 
able. That  night  he  was  worse  than  he  had  been  on 
the  preceding  night.  At  two  o'clock  he  awoke  with 
an  intense  pain.  Remedies  were  applied  but  without 
producing  at  first  the  desired  effect.  The  Doctor  was 
again  sent  for.  At  length,  feeling  much  relieved,  he 
asked  that  the  103d  Psalm  might  be  read  for  him,  and 
then  he  fell  asleep. 

The  messenger  now  returned,  and  stated  that  the 
Doctor  had  to  go  six  miles  farther  to  see  a  patient, 


96  LIFE    OP    REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  Q  I  N  N  E  S. 

and  would  not  be  back  until  noon.  "  Oh,"  said  Mr. 
M'Ginnes,  "must  I  wait  that  long?  This  pain  is 
very  severe.  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  the  bilious 
colic,  or  something  worse."  Another  messenger 
was  now  despatched  after  the  Doctor.  During  the 
interval  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  much  engaged  in  prayer. 
Once  or  twice  he  exclaimed  aloud,  "  Wilt  thou  pur- 
sue thy  worm  to  death,  0,  my  heavenly  Father  ?" 

The  Doctor  arrived  about  one  o'clock,  and  by  the 
anxious  expression  of  his  countenance  intimated  that 
his  patient  was  worse  than  he  expected  to  find  him. 
He  writes,  "  On  Thursday  about  noon  I  visited  Mr. 
M'Ginnes,  at  his  request,  and  found  him  complaining 
of  intense  pain  in  the  right  iliac  region  accompanied 
by  vomiting  and  constipation.  No  hernia  being  de- 
tected, and  means  to  arrest  the  vomiting  and  open 
the  bowels  proving  unavailing,  in  connexion  with  the 
other  symptoms,  led  me  to  conclude  that  the  obstruc- 
tion in  his  bowels  was  mechanical  in  its  nature,  and 
did  not  admit  of  relief."  He  slept  some  that  night, 
but  when  Friday  morning  came,  it  brought  no  relief 
to  his  pains.  He  told  the  Doctor  that  the  intense 
pain  w^as  local,  and  inquired  if  it  was  not  hernia  ? 
The  Doctor  said,  No.  He  then  asked  if  it  would  not 
be  prudent  to  apply  the  cold  water  bandage.  The 
Doctor  gave  his  consent.  This  application  gave  him 
instant  relief,  but  it  was  only  temporary. 

A  short  time  after  the  Doctor  left,  he  had  a  most 
severe  pain,  but  of  short  duration  ;  it  was  succeeded 
by  another.     He  appeared  to  know  that  it  was  coming 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.  97 

on  him,  and  asked  his  wife  to  bring  him  the  large 
chair  and  his  cloak,  as  he  could,  perhaps,  bear  the 
pain  better  if  he  was  sitting  up.  He  then  got  up, 
and  when  the  pain  came  on,  he  exclaimed,  "  Oh  ! 
righteous  Father,  spare,  oh  !  spare  thy  poor  worm!" 
So  intense  was  the  pain  that  he  sprang  from  the  chair 
into  the  bed,  and  said,  "  Oh  !  my  dear  wife,  flesh  and 
heart  will  soon  faint  and  fail  under  pains  like  these. 
Oh  !  how  can  I  endure  another.  Oh  !  this  is  suffer- 
ing, but  it  comes  from  my  Father's  hand,  and  I  must 
endure  it  with  patience." 

This  was  about  ten  o'clock  on  Friday,  and  the  mor- 
phine that  he  had  been  taking  through  the  night  now 
produced  stupor.  He  slept  so  soundly  that  the  ban- 
dage steeped  in  ice-water  could  be  applied  without 
awaking  him.  About  three  o'clock,  when  the  Doctor, 
who  was  unremitting  in  his  attentions,  came  in,  he 
was  asked  what  he  thought  of  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  case. 
He  replied,  "  It  is  stubborn."  Mrs.  M'Ginnes 
watched  his  countenance,  and  saw  that  it  was  expres- 
sive of  no  hope,  and  from  that  moment  her  heart 
sunk  within  her. 

"  In  the  evening  a  lady  suggested  the  propriety  of 
sending  for  another  physician.  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was 
asked  if  he  desired  it.  He  said,  "  No ;  I  have  un- 
bounded confidence  in  Dr.  Shade's  judgment,  and 
I  am  in  the  hands  of  the  great  Physician  ;  if  he  de- 
signs me  to  get  well,  he  will  bless  the  means  now 
used  ;  if  he  does  not,  no  earthly  physician  can  save 
me." 

9 


98  LIFE    OF    KEV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

When  the  Doctor  left  he  desired  to  be  sent  for 
again  about  midnight.  This  was  done,  and  Mr. 
M'Ginneswas  thought  at  the  time  to  be  sinking,  his 
extremities  having  already  become  cold,  but  he  was 
not  suffering  so  much  as  he  had  been  during  the  day. 
About  one  o'clock  the  Doctor  told  Mrs.  M'Ginnes 
that  he  had  felt  alarmed  ever  since  Friday  morning 
about  her  husband's  case,  and  that  the  symptoms 
then  were  very  unfavorable.  It  was  then  thought 
best  to  send  for  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  parents  immediately. 
The  Doctor  left,  and  Mrs.  M'Ginnes  went  and  kneeled 
down  by  the  bedside  of  her  dying  husband,  and  asked 
one  of  the  elders  present  to  please  to  unite  again  with 
them  in  prayer.  From  this  prayer,  in  which  Mr. 
Blair  prayed  that  Mr.  M'Ginnes  might  be  prepared 
to  appear  before  his  Judge,  he  first  learned  that  his 
family  had  despaired  of  his  life.  He  grasped  his 
wife's  hand  more  firmly,  and  almost  sobbed  aloud. 
When  they  arose  from  their  knees,  he  inquired,  "  My 
friends,  do  you  think  that  I  am  going  to  die  ?"  Mr. 
Blair  replied,  "  The  Doctor  says  that  your  symptoms 
are  very  alarming."  "Does  he?"  said  he,  "  Oh!  it 
is  a  solemn  thing  to  die.  I  did  not  think  my  time 
would  come  so  soon.  Perhaps,  the  Doctor  is  mis- 
taken ;  I  feel  quite  strong ;  I  am  better  than  I  have 
been  for  some  hours.  Send  for  the  Doctor  ;  tell  him 
that  I  want  to  see  him  ;  tell  him  not  to  be  afraid  to 
come.  And,  oh  !  my  own  Libbie,  do  not  weep  so,  I 
want  to  be  tranquil."  He  then  said,  "Yes,  I  now 
think  the  Doctor  is  right;"  and  in  a  strong  voice  he 


HIS    LAST     SICKNESS     AND     DEATH.         99 

spoke  about  his  business  being  in  a  very  embarrassed 
state,  said  he  was  much  in  debt;  and  it  seemed  to 
grieve  him. 

His  wife  desired  him  not  to  exhaust  his  remaining 
strength  in  talking  about  his  temporal  affairs,  but  to 
wait  until  the  Doctor  came,  and  she  hoped,  as  he  was 
so  strong,  that  the  Doctor  would  have  a  more  favor- 
able opinion  of  his  case. 

"  Then,"  said  he,  ''  has  the  Doctor  concealed  the 
fact  from  my  poor  loife  f  She  replied,  that  the 
Doctor  had  kindly  expressed  his  fears  to  her,  but  yet 
they  had  hope.  *'  Oh  !  I  thank  the  Doctor  for  that. 
It  was  kind  in  him  to  tell  you.  But  he  is  correct; 
this  is  death.  Oh  !  I  would  not  appear  before  my 
Judge  unprepared,  and  I  must  talk.  This  is  not  a 
time  to  be  silent,  if  I  am  so  soon  to  exchange  worlds." 
He  then  engaged  most  earnestly  in  prayer  that  he 
might  not  be  deceived  in  regard  to  his  hope.  He 
prayed,  "  Oh,  Lord!  Thou  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to 
behold  evil,  and  canst  not  look  on  iniquity.  I  ac- 
knowledge my  transgressions,  and  my  sins  are  ever 
before  me.  Thou  Searcher  of  hearts,  search  me  ;  try 
me,  even  as  silver  is  tried.  Oh  !  thou  divine  Re- 
deemer, suffer  me  not  to  deceive  myself  in  this  try- 
ing hour.  May  I  be  washed,  justified,  and  sanctified, 
and  made  meet  for  thy  blessed  presence." 

He  paused,  and  his  wife  said,  "  My  dear  husband, 
Christ  and  his  cross  has  been  all  your  theme.  You 
have  preached  him  as  a  mighty  Saviour."  "  Yes," 
said   he  ;    "  but  know   you   not  that  some  who  have 


100  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

preached  Christ   to   others   will  be  themselves  cast 
away  ?" 

The  Doctor  now  came  in.  It  was  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  explained  to  him  the 
nature  of  his  disease,  and  announced  to  him  the  im- 
possibility of  his  recovery.  "  Then,"  said  Mr. 
M'Ginnes,  with  great  Christian  composure,  "  I  am 
about  to  enter  a  world  of  spirits.  I  have  but  a  little 
time  to  live.  I  did  not  think  that  my  death  would 
have  come  so  soon,  I  felt  so  much  better.  But  it  is 
all  well."  Then  turning  to  his  wife,  he  said,  "  Come, 
my  dear  wife,  we  have  lived  happily  together  eleven 
years,  but  now  the  time  for  our  separation  has  come. 
Remember  and  plead  the  promises:  the  widow's  God 
will  be  yours.  And  0  endeavor  to  train  our  little 
ones  for  the  heavenly  kingdom.  Let  us  be  an  undi- 
vided family  in  heaven.  Bring  my  children  to  me, 
that  I  may  give  them  my  dying  blessing."  When 
they  were  brought,  he  placed  his  hand  upon  the  head 
of  his  first-born,  his  only  son,  and  said,  "  The  Lord 
bless  you,  my  son.  You  are  now  the  head  of  this 
family.  Be  a  good  boy,  love  and  obey  your  dear 
mother,  comfort  and  protect  her,  and  may  your 
father's  God  be  your  God,  and  keep  you  from  all 
evil."  To  the  little  girls  he  said,  "  Come,  kiss  your 
dear  papa  before  he  dies,"  and  blessed  them.  "My 
poor  little  Mary,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  not  see.  Give 
her  my  dying  blessing."  "Eliza,"  he  continued, 
"teach  them  the  virtues,  oh,  teach  them  the  virtues." 
Then  turning  to  his  brother,  he  said,  "Brother  Wil- 


HIS     LAST     SICKNESS     AND     DEATH.       101 

son,  shield  and  protect  my  fatherless  daughters." 
And  added,  *'I  am  so  glad,  ray  dear  brother,  that 
you  connected  yourself  with  the  Church.  Oh,  be 
a  bright,  an  ardent  Christian.""^  To  his  physician 
he  said,  "  Doctor,  my  dear  friend,  you  have  done 
your  best.     May  God  bless  you.     Farewell." 

He  then  engaged  in  prayer  for  some  time  in  a 
whisper,  after  which  he  said,  "I  bless  the  Lord  that 
he  ever  permitted  me  to  preach  his  gospel.  But,  oh, 
I  have  been  an  unprofitable  servant  ;  I  have  done 
nothing,  and  I  can  do  nothing  to  merit  the  favor  of 
God.     No,  blessed  Jesus — 

*  Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring, 
Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling.' 

I  want  you  to  know,  my  friends,  that  I  die  leaning 
upon  the  righteousness  of  Christ  alone.  Oh,  if  I  am 
not  what  I  would  be,  it  is  by  the  grace  of  God  that 
I  am  what  I  am.  'I  am  a  miracle  of  grace.'  I  can 
now  say,  'for  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.' 

*'  *  Who,  "who  would  live  alway,  away  from  his  God  ; 
Away  from  yon  heaven,  that  blissful  abode, 
Where  the  rivers  of  pleasure  flow  o'er  the  bright  plains, 
And  the  noontide  of  glory  eternally  reigns. 
Where  the  saints  of  all  ages  in  harmony  meet, 
Their  Saviour  and  brethren  transported  to  greet ; 


*  Mr.  John  Henry  Wilson  M'Ginnes  died  on  February  2d,  1853, 
at  Shade  Gap,  of  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  in  the  27th  year  of  his 
age.  "He  was,"  says  his  biographer,  "  a  graduate  of  Marshall 
College,  Pa.,  a  man  of  fine  talents,  a  ripe  scholar,  and  a  meek  and 
unostentatious  Christian." 

0* 


102  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'gINXES. 

While  the  anthems  of  rapture  unceasingly  roll, 
And  the  smile  of  the  Lord  is  the  feast  of  the  soul.'  " 

Hearing  some  in  the  room  talk  of  sending  for  his 
parents,  he  said,  "  Send  quickly  ;"  and  added,  "  What 
will  my  aged  parents  think  of  this  ?  And  mj  poor 
sister  Anna  ?  It  will  be  a  hard  stroke  on  her."  He 
then  renynded  his  wife  of  a  request  he  had  made  to 
her  some  months  previous,  Avhich  was,  to  have  his  re- 
mains taken  to  Shippensburg  incase  she  survived 
him.  And  then  reminded  her  of  another  request, 
made  more  than  a  year  before,  that,  in  such  a  case, 
she  would  have  his  corpse  examined  by  a  physician 
twenty- four  hours  after  life  was  supposed  to  be  ex- 
tinct. Then,  after  giving  minute  directions  in  re- 
ference to  his  temporal  affairs,  the  Academy,  and  the 
church,  and  having  named  the  ministers  who  should 
be  requested  to  deliver  funeral  discourses — one  at 
his  residence,  and  the  other  at  Shippensburg — he  said, 
"To  me  the  grave  hath  no  terrors.  Christ  hath 
scattered  far  its  gloom.     Yes — 

'  The  graves  of  all  the  saints  be  blessed, 

And  softened  every  bed  : 
Where  shall  the  dying  members  rest, 
But  with  their  dying  Head,'  " 

He  then  prayed  fervently  that  he  might  be  per- 
mitted to  glorify  God  in  his  death.  He  said,  "0 
Lord,  let  not  my  sun  go  down  under  a  cloud."  This 
prayer  he  frequently  repeated.  As  his  wife  was  ap- 
plying something  to   his  limbs   to   warm   them,  he 


i 


niS     LAST     SICKNESS     AND     DEATH.       103 

said,  *'  My  dear,  you  cannot  restore  heat.  This  is 
the  chill  of  death — first  to  the  ankles,  then  to  the 
knees,  anon  to  the  loins  ;  soon  it  will  reach  the  seat  of 
life"  (placing  his  hand  upon  his  heart),  "  and  then,  oh  ! 
change  !  oh  !  wondrous  change  !  One  moment  here 
in  mortal  pangs,  and  the  next"  (pointing  upwards  with 
a  significancy  and  rapture,  that  can  be  appreciated  by 
those  only  who  witnessed  it)  "  away  beyond  the  stars." 

To  those  around  him  he  said,  "  This  is  death.  I 
have  often  read  of  '  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,'  but  now  I  know  what  it  is  from  experience,  for 
I  am  passing  through  it ;  but  blessed  be  God  '  he  is 
■with  me,  his  rod  and  his  staff  they  comfort  me.' 
Remember,  that  I  as  your  pastor  and  teacher  have 
not  failed  to  warn  you  of  the  certainty  of  death  and 
of  judgment.  I  am  now  dying,  but  I  die  happily, 
for  Jesus  has  washed  me — a  poor  sinner — in  his  pre- 
cious blood." 

Beholding  his  wife  weeping,  he  said  to  her  in  an 
imploring  tone,  "My  poor  widowed  wife,  do  not  weep 
so  ;  it  looks  like  murmuring.  Why  should  you  weep 
when  I  am  going  to  my  'Father's  house'  where  'are 
many  mansions,'  to  'his  presence'  w'here  'is  fulness  of 
joy,'  and  'to  his  right  hand  where  are  pleasures  for 
evermore?'  You  have  been  the  sharer  of  all  my 
labors  ;  you  have  nursed  a  poor  invalid  for  eleven 
years,  who  is  now  going  to  leave  you  amidst  many 
cares ;  your  sorrows  too  will  increase  upon  you  ;  and 
you  will  be  bereft  of  my  sympathy ;  but  you  have  a 


104  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    iM'GINNES. 

sympathizing  Saviour,  who  has  been  with  you  in  six 
troubles,  and  who  will  not  forsake  you  now. 

**  '  His  love,  in  times  past,  forbids  me  to  think, 
He'll  leave  you  at  last,  in  trouble  to  sink ; 
Each  sweet  Ebenezer  I  have  in  review. 
Confirms  his  good  pleasure  to  help  you  quite  through.' 

*'  He  has  been  the  guide  of  your  youth,  and  he 
will  still  guide  you.  Plead  the  promises,  and  they 
are  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  of  the  blessed  Bible. 
To  thy  care,  heavenly  Father,  I  commit  my  poor 
•widow  and  orphans."  His  wife  was  obliged  to  leave 
the  room,  and  give  vent  to  her  feelings,  although  her 
husband's  brief  address  had  greatly  comforted  her. 
After  this,  she  took  her  station  at  his  head,  and 
when  he  again  spoke,  she  said,  "My  dear  husband, 
I  had  hoped  that  you  would  have  closed  my  dying 
eyes."  He  replied,  "  But  that  I  should  be  taken 
first,  seems  to  be  the  will  of  Providence,  and  it  is 
unquestionably  right.  Live,"  continued  he,  "live 
for  the  children  whom  God  hath  given  us,  born  and 
unborn ;  and  oh  !  Eliza,  bring  them  all  with  you — 
all — home.'' 

During  Saturday  he  suffered  severe  pain,  and  once 
when  he  was  thought  to  be  almost  gone,  he  moaned, 
and,  looking  up  at  his  wife,  he  asked,  "Am  I  patient? 
I  want  to  be  patient.  Pray  for  me,  that  I  may  have 
patience  to  wait  until  my  heavenly  Father  sees  fit  to 
remove  me  from  this  suffering."  She  replied,  "You 
are  patient,  but  your  sufi'erings  are  intense." 


HIS     LAST     SICKNESS     AND     DEATH.       105 

At  one  time,  when  in  great  pain,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Oh  !  this  is  agony, — this  is  suffering  ;  but  it  is  no- 
thing compared  with  what  my  Saviour  suffered  for 
me.  Yes,  '  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,'  but,  thanks 
be  to  God  !  '  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us.'  " 

The  sick-room  was  filled  throughout  the  whole 
of  that  day  with  sorrowing  friends,  and  to  almost 
every  one  he  said  something  appropriate.  An 
eye-witness  writes :  "  I  stood  by  the  bedside  of  the 
dying  man  that  day  (Saturday,  August  30th,  1851), 
as  well  as  the  one  following.  It  was  a  time  of 
sore  lamentation  in  that  house.  Strong  men  wept. 
And  as  many  as  beheld  the  grapplings  of  that  man 
of  God  with  the  last  enemy,  then  felt,  if  they  had 
never  felt  before,  that  '  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that 
are  his,'  and  is  known  of  them.  It  was  indeed  a 
trying  scene.  The  affectionate  brother,  the  beloved 
and  honored  teacher,  the  faithful  minister,  the  kind 
husband  and  the  indulgent  father,  was  about  passing 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  Many 
were  present,  that  they  might  gaze  for  the  last  time 
upon  the  features  of  a  friend  whom  none  knew  but 
to  love,  and  whom  none  named  but  to  praise ;  and 
that  they  might  bid  him,  as  they  well  knew  it  would 
be  on  earth,  a  final  farewell. 

"Prayer  at  different  times  and  by  different  persons 
was  offered  up,  and  the  good  man's  lips,  when  he 
was  not  engaged  in  discoursing  with  those  around 


106  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

him,  whether  others  were  praying  or  not,  were  almost 
incessantly  moving  in  silent  prayer." 

Once,  when  thus  praying,  he  said  aloud,  "  Ah  ! 
Mohammed  is  a  false  prophet ;  the  Lord  is  my  rock." 
Then  looking  up,  he  said,  "  See,  Satan,  the  adversary, 
desired  to  shake  my  faith,  but  my  hope  is  founded 
on  the  Rock  of  ages."  Twice  or  thrice  was  the  ad- 
versary permitted  sorely  to  assail  him,  but  the  result 
in  every  instance  was  increased  peace  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

lie  took  special  interest  in  those  of  his  students 
who  were  studying  for  the  ministry.  He  called  them 
individually  to  him,  and  clasping  them  by  the  hand, 
gave  them  his  dying  counsel.  To  one  he  said,  with 
an  earnest,  dying  look,  that  will  not  soon  be  forgotten, 
"  If  you  live  to  preach  the  gospel,  be  a  faithful,  de- 
voted minister.  Do  your  whole  duty,  and  God  will 
bless  you."  To  another,  a  promising  student,  he 
said,  "  I  want  you  to  prepare  for  a  great  and  a  good 
work.  In  the  ministry  you  will  find  more  real  plea- 
sure than  in  any  other  calling."  To  another  young 
man,  somewhat  addicted  to  intemperate  habits,  he 
said,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  and  addressing  him 
by  name,  "  Keep  away  from  temptation,  and  make 
your  peace  with  God  before  you  come  to  die.  Re- 
member, this  is  the  dying  request  of  one  who  feels  a 
deep  interest  in  your  eternal  welfare."  To  another 
he  said,  ^'Live  the  life  of  a  Christian,  and  the  Chris- 
tian's death  will  be  yours."  He  then  said,  "  Come, 
my  young  friends,  and  see  how  a  Christian  can  die. 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.       107 

With  Christ  as  his  friend,  he  need  fear  no  evil.  I 
am  now  going  through  the  dark  valley,  but  his  pre- 
sence is  with  me,  and  my  soul  is  full  of  comfort." 
He  frequently  said  to  those  around  him,  "  Cultivate 
holiness  of  heart — cultivate  holiness  of  heart ;  mark 
that:' 

In  the  evening,  as  he  looked  out  of  the  window, 
around  which  vines  were  twining,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Oh  !  how  peaceful  all  nature  is  !  How  pleasant  to 
die  with  the  setting  sun  !"  His  wife  remarked,  "  But 
to-morrow  is  the  Sabbath."  He  replied,  "  Oh,  then, 
I  shall  be  losing  no  Sabbaths.  Last  Sabbath  I  was 
in  the  church  militant,  to-morrow  I  shall  spend  in 
the  church  triumphant.  My  harp  shall  then  be  at- 
tuned to  new  and  nobler  strains.  Oh  I  grant  me  but 
the  loivest  seat,  Divine  Redeemer,  in  thy  blissful  pre- 
sence— the  lowest  seat, — and  I  shall  be  satisfied." 
As  he  was  very  fond  of  singing,  he  asked  one  of  the 
students,  that  evening,  to  sing  for  him  the  verse 
commencing  with — 

*'  Jesus,  the  vision  of  thy  face,"  &c. 

But,  as  this  was  not  the  first  line  of  any  hymn,  the 
verse  could  not  be  found.  He  then  asked  his  wife  to 
give  it  out,  but  her  voice  faltered,  upon  which  he  gave 
out  himself  the  following  verses,  repeating  two  lines  at 
a  time,  and  in  the  singing  of  which  he  took  an  active 
part  himself — singing,  indeed,  in  the  loudest  strains 
of  which  his  extreme  weakness  would  permit, — 


108  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

"  Jesus  !  the  vision  of  tliy  face 
Hath  overpowering  charms  ; 
Scarce  shall  I  feel  Death's  cold  embrace, 
If  Christ  be  in  my  arms  ! 

"  Then,  while  ye  hear  my  heart-strings  break, 
How  sweet  my  minutes  roll ! 
A  mortal  paleness  on  my  cheek, 
And  glory  in  my  soul !" 

These  are  the  last  two  verses  of  the  618th  hymn, 
and  the  last  that  he  ever  requested  to  be  sung. 
Could  there  have  been  any  more  appropriate?  Im-- 
mediately  after  singing,  he  requested  that  a  brief 
prayer  might  be  offered,  and  then  said  to  those  who 
were  in  the  room,  "  Last  Sabbath  I  preached  to  you 
from  the  words,  '  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong.' 
This  poor  body  was  weak  then,  but  I  was  strong  in 
the  Lord."  To  his  wife  he  said,  "  I  wish  you,  in 
preparing  my  body  for  burial,  to  write  these  words 
upon  my  breast,  '  Remember  the  words  which  I  spake 
unto  you,  being  yet  present  with  you.'  " 

That  night  he  suffered  greatly.  Once,  having 
groaned,  he  said,  "  That  was  a  groan  but  no  murmur. 
Oh  !  let  patience  have  her  perfect  work."  His  wife 
said,  *'  You  will  soon  be  where 

*  No  groans  shall  mingle  with  the  songs 
Which  warble  from  immortal  tongues.'" 

"  Oh  !"  said  he,  "  there  will  be  no  sin  there,  and  that 
is  better  than  no  groans." 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.      109 

Once  he  repeated  the  following  verses,  found  in 
Heb.  xii.  22-24.  "But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount 
Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  hea- 
venly Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company  of 
angels.  To  the  general  assembly  and  church  of 
the  first  born,  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to 
God  the  judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  new 
covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh 
better  things  than  that  of  Abel,"  and  then  remarked, 
"  I  am  learning  something  of  that  mystery  of  godli- 
ness into  which  angels  desire  to  look, 

*  They  never  sunk  so  low, 

They  were  not  raised  so  high; 
They  never  knew  such  depths  of  woe, 
Such  heights  "of  majesty.' 

"  Oh  no ;  it  was  left  for  poor,  sinful,  fallen  man  to 
taste  'redeeming  grace  and  dying  love.'  0  !  the 
depth  of  the  riches  of  the  love  of  God." 

About  midnight  the  103d  Psalm  was  read,  and  a 
prayer  made.  "  There,"  said  Mr.  M'Ginnes  so  soon 
as  the  number  of  the  psalm  was  mentioned,  "  there 
is  that  precious  psalm ;  but  I  fear  that  I  cannot  enjoy 
it,  the  pain  is  now  so  great."  He,  however,  repeated 
it  all,  in  a  whisper,  very  correctly  ;  and  also  joined 
in  the  prayer  that  followed,  seeming  to  anticipate  just 
what  the  speaker  was  going  to  say.  Soon  after  this 
the  severe  vomiting  commenced.  He  seemed  to  un- 
derstand clearly  the  nature  of  his  disease.    He  turned 

10 


110  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

to  the  Doctor,  and  said,  ''  Doctor,  there  is  that  stag- 
nacious  vomiting."  It  was  exceedingly  painful,  and 
he  prayed,  "  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly,  come  quickly. 
Nevertheless,  not  my  will  but  thine,  0  !  Lord,  be 
done.  0  !  pray,"  he  continued,  "that  I  may  de- 
part— that  I  may  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  pre- 
sent with  the  Lord."  His  wife  asked  him  if  he  re- 
membered the  hymn, 

"  Angels  will  hover  round  my  bed, 
And  waft  my  spirit  home." 

'^  Oh  !  yes,"  said  he,  "  and  there  is  now  nothing  but 
this  thin,  frail  partition  of  flesh  and  blood  between 
me  and  the  great  cloud  of  witnesses."  At  one  time 
receiving  some  ice  water,  he  said,  "  Now,  now,  I  shall 
drink  no  more,  until  I  dl'ink  of  the  water  of  the 
river  of  life,  as  it  flows  fresh  and  for  ever  from  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb." 

As  the  morning  approached  he  several  times  re- 
peated, "  Oh,  how  delightful  to  die  upon  the  Sabbath ! 
How  delightful  tt)  go  to  heaven  on  the  morning  of 
that  day  upon  which  the  Saviour  rose."  And  this 
thought  of  being  on  that  holy  day  with  his  Lord  in 
paradise  seemed  to  overcome  all  the  pain  of  dying. 

About  the  dawn  of  day  being  told  that  his  parents 
had  arrived,  he  said,  "  Bring  them  in  quickly  ;  soon 
all  will  be  over."  His  little  daughter  Mary,  who  had 
been  absent,  came  also  with  them,  and  received  his 
dying  blessing.  When  his  father  and  mother  ap- 
proached his  bedside,  he  exclaimed,  "  My  venerable. 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.      Ill 

father!  Mj  venerable  mother!"  His  mother  i-e- 
marked,  as  he  held  out  his  hand  to  welcome  them, 
"Mj  hands  are  cold."  "  So  are  mine,  mother,"  he 
quickly  replied.  He  then  thanked  the  Lord  for  per- 
mitting him  to  behold  his  parents  once  more  in  the 
flesh  ;  and  told  them  that  he  was  passing  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  but  that  he  feared  no 
evil.  He  then  told  them  as  he  had  told  others  before, 
that  Christ  was  his  only  hope. 

Desirous  of  hearing  his  father's  voice  once  more 
in  prayer,  he  asked  him  to  pray  for  him.  The  old 
gentleman  having  travelled  the  whole  night,  and 
being  much  fatigued  and  quite  nervous,  felt  unfitted 
to  lead  in  prayer.  At  his  son's  request,  however,  a 
short  prayer  was  offered.  After  which,  Mr.  M'Gin- 
nes  said  to  his  father,  with  a  look  full  of  tenderness, 
"  Father,  here  are  my  poor  widow  and  orphans.''' 
His  father  replied,  *'  Commit  them  to  our  covenant 
God.  He  has  said,  ^  Leave  thy  fatherless  children,  I 
will  preserve  them  alive ;  and  let  thy  widows  trust 
in  me.'  "  He  said,  "  It  has  been  done,  father.  I 
have  now  nothing  to  do  but  to  die."     Then  he  said, 

*'  Cease,  pilgrim,  cease,  tby  race  is  run. 
Thy  warfare  cease,  thy  work  is  done." 

The  Doctor  coming  in  at  that  time  desired  him  to 
take  a  little  more  stimulus,  observing  that  while  there 
is  life  there  is  hope.  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  raised  up  in 
the  bed  that  he  might  swallow  the  more  easily,  but 
the  effort  overcame  him,  and  he  said,  "Lay  me  down. 


112  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

lamdyingnow.  Doctor,  where  is  your  hope  ?"  Then 
folding  his  hands  upon  his  breast,  and  looking  once 
more  upon  all  present,  he  closed  his  eyes  and  said, 
"Into  thy  hands,  blessed  Redeemer,  I  commit  my 
spirit."     His  breathing  now  became  difficult. 

His  wife  asked,  "  My  dear  husband,  do  you  still 
know  me  ?"  Gently  opening  his  eyes,  and  trying  to 
smile  upon  her,  he  replied,  "  Oh  yes,  my  beloved  wife, 
my  sight  will  be  very  dim  when  I  cease  to  know  you. 
But  the  windows  are  becoming  darkened."  About 
five  minutes  after  his  brother  Wilson  asked  him  if  he 
knew  him  ?  He  replied,  "  Oh  yes,  dear  brother," 
and  then  said,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly." 
And  on  Sabbath  morning  at  twenty  minutes  past 
eight  o'clock,  his  ransomed  soul  winged  its  way  to 
the  spirit  land. 

The  companion  of  his  youfn  and  riper  age,  with 
their  six  interesting  children,  survive  him,  to  mourn  an 
irreparable  loss.  May  his  God  be  theirs,  and  the 
everlasting  arms  be  around  them. 

On  Sabbath  afternoon,  religious  exercises,  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sterrett,  were  held  at  the  parsonage, 
and  next  morning,  after  some  appropriate  remarks 
and  the  singing  of  the  625th  hymn,  the  remains  of  our 
deceased  brother,  accompanied  by  a  large  concourse 
of  sorrowing  students  and  weeping  friends,  were 
carried  to  Shippensburg,  and  on  Tuesday  morning  at 
ten  o'clock  they  were  interred  in  the  burial-ground 
attached  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  place. 
"  When  laid  in  the  grave,"  the  Rev.   Mr.   Harper 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.      113 

writes,  ''  there  was  a  heavy  shower  of  rain,  and  in 
the  address  I  was  necessarily  brief.  The  number  of 
students,  who  accompanied  his  body  from  Shade  Gap 
to  this  place,  was  large,  and  they  evidently  were 
deeply  conscious  of  the  great  loss  they  had  sustained. 
This  entire  community,  including  all  denominations, 
bewailed  his  death  ;  and  the  company  that  attended 
his  funeral  was  much  larger  than  usual  on  such  oc- 
casions." On  the  second  Sabbath  after  his  death 
( Sept.  14th ),  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sterrett  preached  a 
funeral  discourse  at  Shade  Gap,  from  2  Tim.  iv.  22, 
"  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  thy  spirit."  -And 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Harper  preached  one  on  the  same  day 
at  Shippensburg,  from  Eccles.  iii.  4,  "  A  time  to 
mourn." 

Thus  terminated  the  life  of  one  of  Christ's  minis- 
ters, the  end  and  aim  of  all  whose  acquisitions  and 
actions,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  ever  was  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  salvation  of  precious,  immortal  souls.  A 
ministerial  brother  who  knew  him  well,  writes,  "  Emi- 
nently endowed  with  gifts  and  grace,  the  deceased 
adorned  every  station  he  filled.  But  his  work  on 
earth  is  done.  The  Master  hath  called  him  ;  and  he 
is  now  engaged,  we  doubt  not,  in  the  more  elevated 
exercises  of  the  upper  sanctuary.  May  his  mantle 
fall  on  not  a  few  of  his  pupils,  and  may  his  brethren 
in  the  ministry  be  excited  by  his  example  to  increased 
activity  in  the  service  of  their  Lord." 

The  following  resolutions  of  the  Philo  Literary 
Society  of  Jefferson  College,  among  others  that  might 

10- 


114  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.   Y.    m'gINNES. 

be  presented,  we  deem  in  place  here,  and  worthy  of 
insertion. 

Philo  Hall,  Jefferson  College, 

Canonsburg,  Oct.  3d,  1851. 

Whereas,  it  has  pleased  the  Allwise  God,  to  remove, 
by  death,  one  who  in  former  years  was  an  active  and 
zealous  member  of  the  Philo  Literary  Society,  and 
in  his  after  life  was  an  honor  to  the  association, 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  the  Rev.  J.  Y. 
M'Ginnes,  we  recognise  the  hand  of  that  God,  whose 
judgments  are  unsearchable,  and  whose  ways  are  past 
finding  out. 

Resolved,  That,  by  this  dispensation  of  Providence, 
this  society  has  been  deprived  of  a  worthy  member, 
the  world  of  a  philanthropist,  the  Christian  religion 
of  a  noble  advocate,  and  his  friends  of  all  that  in  the 
son,  the  brother,  the  husband,  and  the  father,  could 
be  desired. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  life  and  character  of  the 
deceased,  there  is  set  a  bright  example  to  all  who 
would  live  happily,  and  die  in  the  "  hope  of  a  blessed 
immortality  beyond  the  grave." 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the 
friends  of  the  deceased,  and  that  we  point  them  for 
comfort  to  Him  who  '^  heareth  the  cry  of  the  afflicted." 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  that  they  be  pub- 
lished in  the  "  Presbyterian  Advocate,"  the  "  Cham- 


HIS    LAST     SICKNESS     AND     DEATH.      115 

bersburg    Repository    and    Whig,"    the    "  Weekly 
News,"  and  the  "  Huntingdon  Journal." 

J.  H.  Clark, 
E.  L.  Dodder, 
W.  W.  Miller, 

Committee. 

A  neat  monument,  9  feet  high,  and  costing  $175, 
has  been  erected  at  the  grave  of  our  departed  brother, 
and  bears  the  following  inscription : 

"  To  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  James  Y.  McGinnes, 
who  departed  this  life  at  Shade  Gap,  Huntingdon 
County,  Pennsylvania,  on  Sabbath  morning  August 
31st,  1851,  in  the  36th  year  of  his  age,  and  the  11th 
year  of  his  ministry.  A  dutiful  son — a  devoted 
husband — a  fond  father — a  beloved  pastor — an  able 
and  successful  minister,  and  zealously  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  education  and  religion.  He  died  as  he 
lived  with  a  joyful  hope  in  Jesus  of  a  blissful  immor- 
tality. '  Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the 
death  of  his  saints.' 

"  The  deceased  was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Shade  Gap,  and  the  founder  and  Principal 
of  Milnwood  Academy.  By  his  students  and  sur- 
viving relatives  this  monument  has  been  erected  as  a 
tribute  of  their  affection  and  esteem." 


116  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

HIS  CHARACTER. 

The  first  time  that  I  saw  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  was  in 
the  pulpit  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Waynes- 
burg,  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  fall  of 
18.48,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Huntingdon. 
He  had  been  appointed  at  the  previous  meeting  of 
Presbytery  to  preach  the  missionary  sermon  on  this 
occasion.  I  had  already  heard  of  his  character  as  a 
preacher,  and  therefore  took  my  seat  with  the  expec- 
tation of  not  only  being  pro^fited,  but  of  enjoying  an 
intellectual  feast. 

After  the  previous  exercises,  in  which  he  was 
assisted  by  another  brother,  he  arose  and  announced 
as  his  text,  Esther  iv.  14,  "  For  if  thou  altogether 
boldest  thy  peace  at  this  time,  then  shall  there  en- 
largement and  deliverance  arise  to  the  Jews  from 
another  place  ;  but  thou  and  thy  father's  house  shall 
be  destroyed  :  and  who  knoweth  whether  thou  art 
come  to  the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this  ?" 

This  was  a  new  text,  I  thought,  for  a  missionary 
sermon,  but  a  very  suitable  one  ;  and  I  at  once  felt 
anxious  to  know  what  he  would  make  of  it.  He  gave 
us  his  introduction  and  entered  upon  the  body  of  his 
discourse,  and  I  began  to  think  that  my  expectations 
were  not  about  to  be  realized — that  he  was  not  so 
great  a  preacher  as  I  had  anticipated, — for  while  his 
style  was  chaste  and  perspicuous,  and  his  ideas  good, 
I  saw  nothing  that  was  particularly  attractive,  either 
as  to  matter  or  manner.    But  the  further  he  advanced 


HIS    CHARACTER.  117 

with  his  subject,  the  more  animated  he  became.  His 
nervous  energy  was  aroused,  his  soul  was  warmed 
into  vigorous  life,  his  eye  was  lighted  up,  and  from 
that  time  to  the  close  of  his  sermon,  there  was  a  rich- 
ness of  thought,  a  propriety  and  eloquence  of  dic- 
tion, and  a  matchless  force  in  delivery,  that  were 
truly  gratifying,  and  fully  convinced  me  that  he  was 
no  ordinary  preacher.  The  discourse  gave  universal 
satisfaction.  The  opinion  I  then  formed  of  his  abi- 
lity and  worth,  was  never  diminished,  but  was  con- 
firmed only,  and  increased  by  every  interview  that 
I  held  with  him. 

In  person,  he  was  about  the  middle  height,  of 
slender  frame,  but  well  proportioned.  He  had  but 
little  ambition  for  "  outward  adorning."  His  thoughts 
were  upon  loftier  and  nobler  themes.  There  was 
nothing  tawdry  or  foppish  about  him  ;  he  scorned 
everything  like  ostentation  ;  but  his  appearance  was 
always  modest  and  becoming.  His  temperament 
was  nervous  bilious,  imparting  to  both  body  and  mind 
great  activity  and  endurance.  His  eye  was  dark  and 
piercing ;  his  features  were  strongly  marked ;  and 
his  countenance  was  expressive  of  much  simplicity  of 
character,  sweetness  of  disposition,  singleness  of  pur- 
pose, and,  especially  in  all  his  public  eflforts,  of  in- 
domitable energy. 

He  had  often  in  his  public  addresses,  at  the  close 
of  certain  passages  of  unusual  force  or  beauty,  a 
rigidness  of  muscle  about  the  mouth,  a  peculiar  com- 
pression of  the  lips,  a  sudden  jerking  of  the  head, 


118  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

with  a  corresponding  motion  of  his  whole  body,  and 
a  slight,  but  instantaneous  rising  upon  his  feet,  all 
indicative  of  the  greatest  decision  of  character,  and 
of  the  greatest  firmness  of  belief  in  the  truth  and 
appropriateness  of  what  he  was  asserting;  and  all 
exhibiting  a  manner  in  striking  harmony  with  the 
sentiments  uttered,  and  eminently  adapted  to  impress 
them  upon  the  minds  of  his  hearers. 

His  public  delivery  was  always  earnest,  eloquent, 
and  controlling.  He  seldom  attempted  to  speak  in 
public,  without  understanding  well  his  subject,  and 
hence  he  was  self-possessed,  and  always  spoke  with 
effect.  When,  however,  he  was  suddenly  called  upon, 
and  from  a  sense  of  duty  was  forced,  upon  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  to  give  utterance  to  his  opinions,  he 
was  ever  found  equal  to  the  task.  He  was  at  a  loss 
for  neither  ideas  nor  words.  And  often  would  there 
be  such  a  flow  of  language,  and  such  a  strain  of  ele- 
vated sentiment,  as  greatly  to  astonish  and  delight 
every  auditor.  It  has  been  said,  that  during  his 
last  and  memorable  visit  to  Canonsburg,  he  made, 
before  the  Literary  Societies  of  the  College,  as  occa- 
sion demanded,  some  of  the  most  chaste  and  beautiful 
addresses  that  were  ever  delivered  there. 

At  one  time  his  eloquence  would  be  soft  and  easy 
as  the  gently-flowing  rivulet,  at  another,  it  would  be 
bold  and  sublime  as  the  wintry  storm.  The  one  was 
persuasive  from  its  winning  mildness  ;  the  other  was 
effective  from  its  overwhelming  power. 

An  anecdote  given  me  by  a  neighboring  brother, 


HIS     CHARACTER.  119 

is  illustrative  of  the  latter  kind  of  his  eloquence.  He 
was  assisting  Mr.  M'Ginnes  during  an  interesting 
communion  season  at  Shade  Gap.  One  evening  he 
preached  a  sermon  in  the  Academy,  addressed  espe- 
cially to  youth.  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  aroused  by  the 
subject.  As  soon  as  the  sermon  was  ended,  he  made 
a  fervent  and  appropriate  prayer,  and  then  followed 
with  some  remarks  of  a  most  eloquent  and  impressive 
character.  Amidst  other  matters  of  thrilling  interest, 
he  related  the  following  incident,  which  occurred 
during  one  of  his  journeys,  designed  to  show  the 
danger  to  which  a  convinced  sinner  is  exposed  by  de- 
laying to  come  at  once  to  Christ,  and  he  so  related 
it,  that  it  almost  made  the  hair  of  those  who  heard 
to  rise.  He  observed  that  he  had  met  with  a  man 
who  was  once  anxious  about  his  soul,  but  who  had 
grieved  away  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  now  had  no  hope, 
and,  said  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  with  most  terrific  effect, 
"  despair  was  written  upon  his  countenance  in  the 
blazing  characters  of  hell,  as  he  uttered  the  words, 
'  I  am  a  doomed  man  I  I  am  a  doomed  man  I '  " 

No  sooner  were  the  services  closed,  than  one  of 
the  students  came  forward,  "pricked  in  his  heart," 
to  ask,  "Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  I  do?"  He 
was  immediately  urged  to  the  exercise  of  "repen- 
tance toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;"  and  then,  with  characteristic  prudence,  Mr. 
M'Ginnes  placed  him  under  the  care  of  a  Christian 
student,  that  his  serious  impressions  might  be  deep- 
ened instead  of  being  allowed  to  pass  away. 


120  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'GINNES. 

Another  instance  has  been  given  of  the  power  of 
his  oratory.  He  was  preaching  from  Is.  xxviii.  16, 
and  in  the  midst  of  his  appeals  to  all  God's  rational 
creation,  to  witness  the  sure  foundation  which  He 
had  laid  in  Zion,  he  addressed  the  devils  in  hell,  and 
said,  '\Beliold,  ye  accursed  spirits  of  the  pit!  jq^ 
who  have  sworn  eternal  hatred  to  the  Church — she 
flings  back  your  defiance  ;  she  dares  you  to  the  as- 
sault;  she  rests  upon  a  foundation,  against  which 
you,  and  all  the  gates  of  hell,  shall  not  prevail.  You 
may  vent  your  malignant  spite  ;  you  may  try  all  the 
cunning  of  those  hellish  arts,  by  which  you  at  first 
deceived  our  federal  head,  and  brought  our  Maker's 
curse  upon  the  world  ;  but  ye  shall  be  foiled  in  every 
scheme  ;  ye  shall  be  thwarted  in  every  efi*ort,  for  the 
bulwarks  of  Almighty  grace  defend  the  city  where 
we  dwell.  The  foundation,  upon  which  we  now  build, 
is  the  rock  Christ  Jesus,  your  Master  and  ours. 
Make  ready  then  your  disciplined  legions,  and, 
strong  in  the  mighty  association  of  principalities  and 
powers,  come  up  to  the  charge,  and  ye  shall  be  scat- 
tered like  the  chaff  before  the  whirlwind.  Gird  your- 
selves together,  but  ye  shall  be  utterly  broken  in 
pieces.  The  foundation  which  ye  assault  is  as  im- 
movable as  the  throne  of  the  Eternal."  This  whole 
address,  it  is  said,  produced  a  most  thrilling  sensa- 
tion. 

At  another  time,  the  tone  of  his  eloquence  would 
be  gentle  and  soothing  as  the  mild  zephyrs  of  spring. 
His  thoughts  ran  much  on  death  and   heaven,  and 


niS     CHARACTER.  121 

he  often  dwelt  upon  these  subjects  in  his  public  ad- 
dresses. 

From  many  expressions  which  dropped  from  his 
lips  during  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  his  life,  he 
seemed  to  have  an  impression  that  he  would  be  early 
called  away  from  us.  I  will  merely  mention  one. 
At  his  spring  communion,  in  March,  1851,  when 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  religious  interest  awakened, 
as  already  stated,  his  wife  said  to  him  on  Sabbath 
morning,  that  she  thought  she  could  not  go  to  church 
that  day,  as  one  of  the  students  was  sick  at  their 
house  ;  and  as  so  many  of  their  young  men  appeared 
to  be  serious,  she  said  that  she  did  not  like  to  ask 
any  of  them  to  take  her  place  in  the  sick-room.  He 
replied  in  a  very  decided  tone,  "  0  Eliza,  it  must  be 
so  planned  that  you  can  go.  Our  communion  Sab- 
baths together  on  earth  are  numbered.  They  are 
too  precious  to  be  absent  from."  And  in  the  even- 
ing when  they  were  conversing  about  the  exercises 
of  the  day,  he  said,  "  It  was  an  earnest  of  our  hea- 
venly inheritance." 

This  impression  of  the  shortness  of  his  stay  on 
earth  will  account,  no  doubt,  in  some  good  degree, 
for  the  frequency,  as  well  as  the  vividness,  of  his 
heavenly  contemplations.  An  intelligent  lady  once 
remarked  that  in  his  descriptions  of  heaven,  he  was 
more  impressive  than  any  person  that  she  had  ever 
heard ;  he  seemed  to  present,  she  said,  the  very 
reality  before  his  hearers.  Said  another,  His  sermon 
on  '  the  marriage  supper   of  the  Lamb,'  from  Rev. 

11 


122  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

xix.  9,  was  the  most  beautiful  thing  that  I  ever  lis- 
tened to." 

At  the  communion  table  his  remarks  were  always 
happy.  Like  the  ever  memorable  Payson  he  was  here, 
especially,  at  home.  He  felt  that  his  divine  Master 
was  by  his  side,  and  his  soul  glowed  with  holy  fire 
as  he  discoursed  to  the  admiring  communicants  of 
^'  Jesus  Christ,  evidently  set  forth  before  their  eyes, 
crucified  among  them."  On  this  theme,  in  a  re- 
markable degree,  his  "  heart  indited  good  matter, 
and  his  tongue  was  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer."  At 
one  communion  season,  while  assisting  me,  he  ad- 
dressed the  communicants  for  about  twenty  or  thirty 
minutes,  in  a  strain  of  the  most  fervid  eloquence, 
from  those  sweet  and  weighty  words  of  Paul  to  the 
Corinthian  Christians,  "  All  things  are  yours,"  &c. 
1  Cor.  iii.  21-23.  As  he  enlarged  upon  each  item 
there  specified,  I  thought  the  passage  was  richer  than 
I  had  ever  before  anticipated ;  and,  during  his  ad- 
dress, he  held  the  entire  audience  in  breathless  at- 
tention. At  another  communion  season,  in  the  same 
place,  he  was  m'ost  happy  in  his  address  to  non-com- 
municants ;  especially  to  the  baptized  children  of  the 
Church,  whom  he  styled  "  the  children  of  the  cove- 
nant." It  was  the  most  appropriate,  persuasive, 
and  solemn  address  of  the  kind  that  I  ever  heard. 
I  wish  all  those  words  were  written  with  ink  in  a 
book,  so  that  we  all  might  read  them ;  and  written, 
as  with  the  pen  of  a  diamond,  upon  the  heart  of  every 
baptized  youth  in  our   land.     But   alas !    they  are 


HIS     CHARACTER.  123 

gone.  They  were  the  effusions  of  the  moment,  spring- 
ing from  an  eloquent  and  pious  soul.  They  made 
their  impression  at  the  time  ;  an  impression  which 
will  never  be  entirely  forgotten  ;  but  the  words  them- 
selves are  now  floating  only  upon  the  breeze. 

In  June,  1849,  when  the  Rev.  George  Elliott  was 
ordained  at  Alexandria,  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  M'Ginnes 
preached  the  ordination  sermon  before  Presbytery, 
from  2  Cor.  v.  20,  "  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors 
for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us  ; 
we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to 
God."  The  sermon  was  delivered  amidst  much  bodily 
infirmity ;  but  it  was  an  able  and  earnest  effort,  and 
gave  great  satisfaction.  One  of  the  audience,  at 
whose  house  he  had  received  some  medical  relief  a 
few  days  before,  remarked  to  one  of  the  older  minis- 
ters present,  that  she  did  not  think  that  Mr.  M'Gin- 
nes was  able  to  preach  at  all,  but  that  he  had  done 
admirably.  He  replied,  "  Brother  M'Ginnes  always 
gives  us  '  strong  meat,'  but  I  fear  that  the  sword  will 
soon  cut  through  the  scabbard ;  that  his  mind  will 
"wear  out  his  body."     The  reply  was  prophetic. 

To  expect,  however,  that  the  reading  of  his  ser- 
mons will  afford  anything  like  the  same  delight  that 
the  hearing  of  them  did,  would  be  expecting  too 
much.  His  matter,  however  excellent  in  itself,  with- 
out his  manner,  is  destitute  of  one  very  essential 
element  of  povv^er.  Said  a  writer  of  the  great  Peri- 
cles, who  had  been  injured  by  imperfect  attempts  to 
represent  him,  "Action  is  almost  all."     Many  con- 


124  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'gINNES. 

sider  action  to  be  the  soul  of  oratory.  The  immortal 
Demosthenes  thrice  declared  it  to  be  the  first  thing 
in  discourse.  It  is  recorded  of  Friar  Narni,  a  Capu- 
chin, that  he  was  so  remarkable  for  his  eloquence, 
that  his  hearers,  after  one  of  his  sermons,  cried  out 
mercy  in  the  streets  as  he  passed  home  ;  and  that 
thirty  bishops  started  up  under  another  discourse, 
and  hurried  home  to  their  respective  dioceses,  deter- 
mined to  make  full  proof  of  their  ministry.  Yet 
when  his  sermons  came  to  be  published,  they  were 
thought  to  be  unworthy  of  his  reputation  ;  which 
shows  how  much  depends  on  action,  and  how  correct 
the  saying  of  Demosthenes  was  on  that  subject. 
Similar  remarks  have  been  made  of  the  inimitable 
Whitefield,  and  of  other  eminent  orators.  It  must 
not  then  be  deemed  strange,  if  the  printed  sermons 
of  our  worthy  brother  should  be  labelled  by  many, 
''  Teheir 

But  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  no  mean  evidence  of  the 
high  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  that  we  are 
able  to  afl&rm  that  those  who  heard  him  most  liked 
him  best.  An  intelligent  hearer  said  to  the  writer, 
"His  sermons  yfere  ahvays  excellent,  whether  he  was 
sick  or  well.  AVhen  his  congregation  did  not  think 
him  able  to  preach,  he  would  astonish  them.  I  have 
heard  other  preachers,  and  the  best  of  them  would 
sometimes  fail ;  but  I  never  saw  one  like  Mr. 
M'Ginnes,  for  he  was  brilliant  in  evert/  sermon." 
Said  another,  a  member  of  his  Session,  "I  have  no 
preference  for  his  sermons.  They  all  appeared  so 
good  to  me,  that  I  should  like  to  see  any  of  them 


HIS    CHARACTER.  125 

published,  so  that  I  could  place  a  copy  of  them  in 
mj  library,  as  a  memento  of  one  whom  I  always  re- 
spected and  admired." 

His  physician  in  Illinois,  also  a  ruling  elder,  says, 
"that  he  was  regarded  by  all  as  an  able  and  devoted 
minister.  And  that  whei^he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  must  remove  from  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, all  were  satisfied  that  such  was  his  duty;  yet, 
at  the  same  time,  this  necessity  was  regarded  as  a 
mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence,  by  which  his 
charge  and  the  country  generally  were  to  be  de- 
prived of  the  labors  of  one  peculiarly  adapted  to  this 
field."  The  Rev.  Robert  Steel  (who,  a  few  years 
since,  also  "entered  into  his  rest"),  the  successor  of 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  at  Lewistown,  Illinois,  in  writing  to 
him  under  date  of  Dec.  2d,  1845,  says,  "  I  presume 
there  will  be  no  wrong  in  saying  to  you,  now  that 
you  are  removed  from  this  people,  that  I  find  the 
odor  of  your  name  very  sweet  among  them.  I  be- 
lieve they  universally  regret  your  departure.  They 
never  speak  of  you  but  with  affection.  And  of  your 
preaching  they  speak  in  high  terms.  Excuse  me  for 
saying  so  much  of  you.  Justice,  I  think,  demands 
no  less,  however  much  we  ought  to  avoid  saying  any- 
thing that  would  exalt  a  man's  opinion  of  himself, 
especially  the  minister  of  the  gospel,  who,  of  all 
others,  should  esteem  himself  the  least."  His  most 
intimate  friend  at  the  West,  thus  writes,  "  My  im- 
pressions of  his  preached  sermons  were  then,  and  now 
are,  of  a  most  favorable  character.  I  thought  them 
11* 


126  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

clear,  richly  evangelical,  and  delivered  with  power. 
In  Illinois  he  was  remarkably  popular  as  a  minister, 
as  a  pastor,  and  as  a  man.  His  memory  is  still 
cherished  there,  as  associated  with  much  that  is 
precious." 

In  a  letter,  dated  Dec.  25th,  1843,  recommending 
Mr.  M'Ginnes,  after  his  return  from  the  West,  to  a 
vacant  congregation  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
M'Kinley  speaks  of  him,  as  follows  :  "  He  is  a  young 
man  of  the  fii^st  order  of  pulpit  talents,  as  you  will 
at  once  perceive  when  you  hear  him  preach.  He  is 
sound  to  the  core  as  to  faith,  and  a  very  eloquent 
and  impressive  preacher  of  the  gospel.  I  feel  no 
hesitation  in  recommending  him  as  one  of  the  most 
able  and  promising  young  men  that  I  have  ever 
known."  The  same  brother — for  whom  he  had  often 
preached — lately  remarked  of  him  to  the  author, 
"He  was  a  very  superior  man."  A  neighboring 
brother  writes,  "  I  well  remember  my  first  impressions 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  in  seeing  his  penetrating 
eye,  hearing  his  manly  voice,  and  receiving  his  cor- 
dial hand.  I  distinctly  remember  too  my  pleasant 
surprise  in  hearing  him  preach  for  the  first  time. 
"When  he  began  to  impart  the  inspiration  of  his 
theme,  I  was  ready  to  say,  can  this  be  the  missionary 
of  Shade  Gap?  This  is  speech  rarely  heard  even 
from  marble  pulpits." 

He  was  comparatively  a  young  man  when  he  died, 
but  his  reputation  as  a  preacher  and  an  orator  was 
very  high.     His  pulpit  career  was  brilliant.     He  was 


HIS     CHARACTER.  127 

considered  an  ornament  to  his  Presbytery,  and  it 
was  always  a  source  of  gratification  to  his  brethren 
to  hear  him  preach.  He  possessed  talents  of  rare 
excellence,  quick  apprehension,  a  fertile  memory,  a 
fascinating  style  of  elocution,  admirable  tact  and  ad- 
dress, and  a  mind  that  seemed  to  grasp,  and  to  un- 
fold with  facility,  the  most  complicated  subject. 

As  a  writer,  he  was  rapid,  perspicuous,  and  forci- 
ble. His  imagination  was  rich  and  glowing,  and 
rapidly  "bodied  forth  the  forms  of  things;"  so 
much  so  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  his  hasty  pen 
to  "turn  them  to  shapes."  His  mind  could  hardly 
wait  upon  his  pen ;  hence  the  almost  illegible  style 
of  his  writing.  And  I  may  here  observe,  that  he 
had  naturally  a  fondness  for  writing  poetry.  His 
eye  often  "in  a  fine  frenzy  rolling,"  was  indica- 
tive only  of  "the  circle  where  his  passions  moved." 
At  a  very  early  age  he  exhibited  his  taste  for  poetic 
composition,  and  vre  have  left  us  several  of  his  poetic 
efi'usions  of  considerable  merit.  He  tarried,  how- 
ever, but  little  "  to  regale  himself  at  Parnassus  ;  he 
only  stopped  to  pluck  a  flower  with  which  to  adorn 
himself  the  more  fully  for  his  Master's  work." 

As  a  theologian,  he  was  strictly  orthodox.  He 
loved  the  doctrines  of  grace  as  ably  set  forth  by  all 
the  Reformers,  and  in  our  own  standards.  In  a  let- 
ter, under  date  of  July  20th,  1850,  he  wrote  me  that 
he  had  just  returned  from  New  England,  where  he 
had  visited  New  Haven,  and  had  an  opportunity  of 
tasting  a  new  dish  of  theology,  but  remarked  cha- 
racteristically that,  "  it  was  not  very  palatable  to 


128  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

an  old-fashioned  Calvinist  like  me."  When  the  Ger- 
m  an  Reformed  congregation  at  Chambersburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, was  vacant,  before  the  Rev.  A.  Nevin  (now 
of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania)  was  invited  there  as  a 
candidate,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  had  a  very  pressing  invi- 
tation from  the  Consistory  of  that  church  to  preach 
for  them,  with  a  view  to  a  call.  He  was  asked 
whether  he  would  go?  He  replied,  "No.  I  could 
not  leave  the  old  landmarks.  I  shall  obtain  all  the 
honor  I  desire  in  the  good  Old  School  Presbyterian 
Church." 

He  did  not,  however,  enter  the  ministry  for  the 
sake  of  either  ease  or  honor,  well  satisfied  that  any 
who  seek  the  ministry  from  such  motives  had  better 
never  enter  it.  He  was  a  hard-working  man.  The 
maxim  well  applied  to  him,  "  the  life  of  a  minister 
is  the  life  of  his  ministry."  As  a  pastor  he  was  af- 
fectionate, prayerful,  and  laborious.  He  "endured 
hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 

As  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  he  "  studied  to  show 
himself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  needed 
not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of 
truth."  He  "preached  the  word:  was  instant  in 
season,  out  of  season;  reproved,  rebuked,  and  ex- 
horted with  all  long  suffering  and  doctrine."  Nor 
did  he  serve  God  with  that  which  cost  him  nothing. 
He  prepared  beaten  oil  for  the  sanctuary.  Although 
he  was  a  good  extemporaneous  speaker,  yet  whenever 
his  time  permitted  he  always  made  ample  prepara- 
tion for  the  pulpit,  as  his  many  written  sermons  tes- 


HIS    CHARACTER.  129 

tify.  One  of  his  parishioners  once  said  to  him,  Mr. 
M'Ginnes,  why  do  you  spend  so  much  time  in  writ- 
ing your  sermons,  when  you  can  extemporize  with  so 
much  facility  ?  He  replied,  "  It  is  a  solemn  thing 
to  serve  God,  and  I  cannot  do  it  with  that  which 
costs  me  nothing.  I  must  prepare  beaten  oil  for  the 
sanctuary."  A  conversation  very  similar  to  this  is 
said  to  have  taken  place  between  President  Davies 
and  one  of  his  confidential  elders ;  and  it  may  be  re- 
peated here,  because  appropriate  in  no  small  degree  to 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  because  it  is  directly 
antagonistic  to  some  of  the  frothy  publications  of  the 
present  day,  in  relation  to  this  matter.  This  elder 
once  said  to  Mr.  Davies,  "  How  is  it,  that  you  who 
are  so  well  informed  upon  all  theological  subjects, 
and  can  express  yourself  with  so  much  ease  and 
readiness  upon  any  subject,  and  in  any  company, 
and  have  language  so  at  your  command,  should  think 
it  necessary  to  prepare  and  write  your  sermons  with 
so  much  care,  and  take  your  notes  into  the  pulpit, 
and  make  such  constant  use  of  them  ?  Why  do  you 
not,  like  many  other  preachers,  oftener  preach  ex- 
tempore ?"  The  reply  of  Mr.  Davies — than  whom,  a 
greater  pulpit  orator  this  country  has  not  produced — 
was,  "  I  always  thought  it  to  be  a  most  awful  thing 
to  go  into  the  pulpit,  and  there  speak  nonsense  in 
the  name  of  God.  Besides,  when  I  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  preparing,  and  neglect  to  do  so,  I  am  afraid 
to  look  up  to  God  for  assistance,  for  that  would  be 
to  ask  him  to  countenance  my  negligence.     But  when 


130  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'gINNES. 

I  am  evidently  called  upon  to  preach,  and  have  had 
no  opportunity  to  make  suitable  preparation,  if  I  see 
it  clearly  to  be  my  duty,  I  am  not  afraid  to  try  to 
preach  extempore,  and  I  can  with  confidence  look  up 
to  God  for  assistance."  This  is  a  judicious  presen- 
tation of  the  subject,  and  worth  volumes  on  the  other 
side  of  the  question. 

President  Davies  said,  that  every  sermon  of  his  that 
was  worth  anything,  cost  him  four  days  of  hard  labor. 
So  with  Brother  M'Ginnes;  though  his  thoughts 
flowed  rapidly,  every  sermon  was  characterized  by 
"the  hand  of  the  diligent."  He  generally  wrote 
fully,  and  used  his  manuscript  freely.  He  thus 
scouted  the  idea  that  many  entertain,  who  have  not 
half  of  his  popularity,  that  it  is  unnatural,  unscrip- 
tural,  unhistorical,  and  ineffective  to  write  much  and 
use  notes,  and  that  we  should  preach  wholly  extem- 
pore. His  early  practice  seems  to  have  been  this: 
"  He  wrote  his  sermons,  and  committed  them  to 
memory.  This  he  did  with  astonishing  quickness 
and  ease.  But,  constantly  harassed  with  the  appre- 
hension that  he  might  forget,  he  after  a  time  took 
short  notes  of  his  written  discourses  into  the  pulpit 
with  him."  But  in  later  years  he  had  no  hesitation 
in  using  his  manuscript  fully.  He  was,  however, 
familiar  with  it,  and  was  therefore,  never  trammelled 
in  his  delivery.  So  he  once  said  to  me,  that  he  did 
not  call  it  (the  manner  of  his  delivery)  reading,  but 
preaching. 

It  is  as  true  of  the  flock  of  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  as  ever 


HIS    CHAEACTER.  131 

it  was  of  the  people  of  either  President  Davies,  or 
of  the  sainted  M'Chejne's  charge,  that  they  were 
guilty  of  man-worship.  Both  his  congregation  and 
his  pupils  idolized  him  ;  and  because  of  this,  perhaps, 
as  in  other  cases,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  be  re- 
moved from  their  midst.  His  death  produced  a  shock, 
from  which  neither  have  since  recovered. 

The  following  incidents  are  illustrative  of  the 
ardent  attachment  that  was  cherished  towards  him 
by  his  beloved  pupils.  After  his  death,  several  of  the 
young  men  boarded  with  Mrs.  M'Ginnes.  She  was 
much  affected  one  day,  picking  up  the  Bible  of  one  of 
them,  in  observing  a  little  ringlet  of  hair  carefully 
stitched  on  that  verse  in  2d  Corinthians,  from  which 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  had  preached  his  last  sermon.  Upon 
inquiry,  it  was  found  that  several  of  the  young  men 
had  asked  for  locks  of  his  hair,  and  that  was  the  way 
in  which  they  kept  them  sacred.  One  of  the  students 
was  heard  to  say,  after  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  life  was 
despaired  of,  "  Oh,  that  I  could  die  in  his  stead,  and 
let  him  live  to  do  good."  Another,  a  motherless  boy 
of  ten  years  of  age,  said,  "  I  will  never  love  any  man 
again  as  I  did  Mr.  M'Ginnes."  "Put  not  your 
trust  in  princes,  nor  in  the  son  of  man,  in  whom  there 
is  no  help.  His  breath  goeth  forth,  he  returneth  to 
his  earth;  in  that  very  day  his  thoughts  perish." 

But  Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  not  only  dear  to  his  own 
charge,  and  to  the  pupils  of  his  Academy  :  he  was 
also  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.     He  was  a  uni- 


132  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

versal  favorite.  He  had  both  a  lovely  and  a  loving 
spirit. 

In  social  life,  he  stood  among  the  foremost.  He 
was  eminently  social  wherever  he  was,  at  home  or 
abroad.  Great  as  he  was  as  a  pulpit  orator,  he 
never  shone  in  a  light  more  winning  than  when  he 
was  seen  in  a  domestic  circle.  As  a  dutiful  son,  a 
tender  father,  and  an  affectionate  husband,  he  had 
no  superior.  He  was  a  truly  domestic  man.  It  was 
interesting  to  see  his  joy  amidst  his  family  circle. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  freezing  atmosphere  about 
him.  His  house  was  the  spot  he  ever  loved  the  best. 
He  never  thought  it  beneath  Ms  dignity  to  mingle 
in  those  little  pleasures  which  he  termed  "  the  great 
sweeteners  of  domestic  life." 

One  pleasing  habit  we  have  noticed.  He  was 
accustomed  every  morning,  just  after  family  wor- 
ship, to  call  all  his  children  to  him,  beginning  at 
the  eldest,  to  give  him  their  morning  kiss,  and  then 
to  direct  them  to  their  mother  to  say  their  prayers 
and  receive  her  parting  kiss.  Whenever  absent  from 
home,  he  was  always  anxious  to  hear  from  it,  and  was 
continually  writing  letters  thither ;  and  he  always 
enjoyed  upon  his  return,  any  little  surprise  that  his 
family  had  prepared  for  him  in  his  absence,  with  the 
greatest  delight. 

He  was  a  generous,  noble-hearted,  and  warm  friend. 
He  accordingly  made  friends  wherever  he  went,  and 
was  ever  treated  like  a  son  or  a  brother.  He  was  not, 
therefore,  a  stranger  to  the  proverb  of  Solomon,  "  A 


HIS    CHARACTER.  133 

man  that  hath  friends,  must  show  himself  friendly.' 
A  certain  poet  has  said,  "  Friendship  is  but  a  name  ;" 
but  Mr.  M'Ginnes  says,  "he  was  an  ascetic,  melan- 
choly misanthrope,  who  said  so.  It  is  one  of  the  dearest 
boons  of  heaven  to  man, — a  pledge  of  life,  and  light, 
and  peace,  an  antepast  of  heaven, — so  I  have  found  it." 

"He  was  given  to  hospitality,"  as  the  apostle  ex- 
horts. Living  so  remote  from  the  public  thorough- 
fares, as  he  did,  and  not  often  meeting  with  his  minis- 
terial brethren,  he  enjoyed  their  society  exceedingly. 
A  meeting  of  Presbytery,  or  a  visit  from  a  minister, 
was  to  him  like  an  "  oasis  in  the  desert."  He  always 
welcomed  these,  as  well  as  his  parishioners,  pupils, 
acquaintances,  and  even  strangers,  cordially  to  his 
house,  and  made  them  all  feel  at  home. 

His  conversation  was  instructive  and  entertain- 
ing, and  always  full  of  life  and  good  humor.  He 
had  a  vein  of  pleasantry  about  him  that  was  attrac- 
tive ;  and  he  was,  no  doubt,  often  tempted  to  carry 
this  to  an  extreme.  He  may,  at  times,  in  conse- 
quence, have  injured,  to  some  extent,  the  influence 
of  his  occasional  ministrations  among  us.  Many 
solemn  appeals  that  were  made  by  him  in  the  pulpit 
might  have  had  their  point  somewhat  blunted  by  the 
recollection  of  his  merriment  in  the  private,  social 
circle ;  but  ordinarily  this  was  not  the  case,  and 
so  far  as  there  was  a  tendency  towards  it,  we  know 
that  he  was  himself  amono^  the  first  to  resrret  it, 
while  his  usual  cheerfulness  rendered  him  acceptable 
and  useful  to  all  classes. 

12 


134  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

His  manners  were  agreeable;  being  unaifected  and 
graceful.  He  was  unassuming,  affable,  and  perfectly 
accessible  to  all. 

His  mental  powers,  as  already  seen,  were  of  a  high 
order,  fitting  him  to  be  not  only  the  popular  orator, 
but  also  the  able  scholar  and  the  successful  leader, 
whether  in  education  or  religion.  They  were  active, 
discriminating,  and  commanding.  His  pupils,  al- 
though fully  at  their  ease  with  him  in  the  school-room, 
the  parlor,  or  at  the  playground,  were  never  known  to 
treat  him  with  deojradinor  familiarities.  Their  love  to 
him  and  their  respect  for  him  equally  forbade  it.  In 
sympathizing  with  them  in  their  studies  and  innocent 
amusements,  in  being  their  confidant  and  counsellor, 
and  in  his  earnestness  to  promote  both  their  greatest 
intellectual  and  spiritual  welfare,  he  became  to  them 
an  object  of  the  highest  esteem  and  veneration. 
Hence,  commanding  both  their  affection  and  respect, 
he  had  very  little  difiiculty  in  securing  their  obedience. 
His  word  was  law  among  them.  Whatever  he  said, 
settled  all  their  controversies.  They  had  full  confidence 
in  him,  both  as  to  sound  judgment  and  honest  inten- 
tion. He  had  also  very  great  tact  in  managing  his 
students.  Said  a  friend,  "He  had  so  well  trained  his 
boys,  that  they  moved  forward  in  one  unbroken  pha- 
lanx, to  carry  out  any  purpose  he  wished."  It  has  been 
asserted  that  there  was  but  one  student  that  ever  said 
anything  against  Mr.  M'Ginnes ;  and  it  was  said  that 
he  was  not  fit  to  be  at  the  Academy. 

Mr.  M'Grinnes  was  a  good  critic,  and  a  close  ob- 


HIS     CHARACTER.  135 

server  of  men  and  things.  He  understood  well 
Pope's  adage, 

*'The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man." 

Nor  was  he  backward  to  express  his  sentiments  when- 
ever the  occasion  called  for  them.  He  remarked  one 
day  of  a  brother  clergyman,  "  I  do  not  know  which  to 
admire  most,  his  head  or  his  heart."  To  another, 
he  said,  "  Dear  brother,  the  more  I  know  you,  the 
better  I  love  you  ;"  and  of  another,  he  observed,  "  Oh, 

Brother is  a  man  after  my  own  heart." 

He  was  a  fearless  advocate  of  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  truth,  and  he  would  not  be  imposed  upon  ; 
nor  was  he  ever  at  a  loss  for  an  apt  reply,  when  at- 
tacked by  an  opponent.  One  day,  he  vrent  to  hear 
a  clergyman  of  another  denomination.  He  wished 
to  sit  below  as  an  auditor,  but  his  brother  insisted 
on  his  taking  a  seat  with  him  in  the  pulpit.  He  did 
so.  But,  after  getting  him  there,  and  exposing  him 
to  the  public  gaze,  the  minister  made  a  rude  attack 
upon  Presbyterianism  ;  and  when  he  was  through  his 
discourse,  he  did  not  even  call  upon  Mr.  M'Ginnes 
to  pray.  The  next  day  this  minister  met  him,  and 
extended  his  hand  to  greet  him,  but  Mr.  M'Ginnes 
declined  it,  at  the  same  time  remarking  that  he  asso- 
ciated with  gentlemen.  In  relating  this  anecdote 
afterwards  to  a  friend,  Mr.  M'Ginnes  said  that  the 
conduct  of  that  clergyman  towards  him  was  like  that 
of  Joab  towards  Amasa,  when  he  said,  "  Art  thou  in 
health,  my  brother?"  and  then  smote  him  under  the 
fifth  rib.     He  said  that  it  was  "  an  outrageous  lam- 


136  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINN.ES. 

pooning  of  Presbjterianism,"  "which  he  had  been 
compelled  to  listen  to,  and  that  if  he  had  been  invited 
to  pray,  as  he  of  course  expected  that  he  would  be, 
he  intended  to  have  taken  the  liberty  of  first  telling 
the  audience  what  Presbyterianism  was. 

A  short  time  after  he  removed  to  Shade  Gap,  he 
was  introduced  to  a  man  who  is  called  "  A  stiff 
Seceder,"  and  who,  Mr.  M'Ginnessaid,  when  relating 
the  circumstance,  thought  himself  one  of  "  the  people, 
and  that  wisdom  would  die  with  him."  The  man 
accosted  him  with  an  air  and  in  a  manner  not  the 
most  pleasant,  about  his  singing  hymns,  which,  he 
said,  were  human  composition,  whilst  they  praised 
God  with  an  inspired  psalmody.  Mr.  M'Ginnes  in- 
quired, as  though  he  was  very  ignorant,  ''  What  do 
you  sing  ?"  The  man  replied,  "  David's  Psalms." 
Again  it  was  inquired,  "  Just  as  they  are  in  the 
Bible?"  "  Oh,  no,"  was  the  reply;  "  they  are  set 
to  metre."  "  By  whom  ?"  "  By  John  Rouse." 
"  Well,  who  was  this  John  Rouse?"  "A  Scotch- 
man." Mr.  M'Ginnes  said,  "I  have  only  one  more 
question  to  ask,  did  God  ever  inspire  a  Scotchman  f 
"  Well,"  said  the  man,  completely  at  his  wits'  end, 
"  I  don't  know  as  he  did." 

A  few  years  ago,  before  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  own  dwell- 
ing was  much  thought  of,  a  clergyman  from  New  York, 
who  visited  in  his  family,  happened  to  form  a  rather  low 
opinion  of  Shade  Gap,  and  of  the  people  around  it.  He 
spoke  somewhat  disparagingly  of  both,  and  urged  Mr. 
M'Ginnes  to  seek  a  more  extensive  field  of  usefulness. 


HIS     CHARACTER.  137 

He  said  that  he  did  not  like  to  see  a  man  of  his 
talents  hemmed  in  there  amidst  the  mountains, 
preaching  to  a  mere  handful  of  people,  and  that  his 
own  family,  too,  would  grow  up  in  ignorance.  Mr. 
M'Ginnes  replied,  "  There  is  an  honorable  ambition 
which  every  man  should  have,  to  do  all  the  good  that 
he  can  in  the  world ;  and  it  is  true  that  my  voice 
could  be  heard  equally  as  well  by  one  thousand  per- 
sons as  by  two  or  three  hundred,  but  then  there  are 
other  things  (referring  to  his  feeble  health)  to  be 
taken  into  consideration.  And,"  said  he,  "it  does 
not  follow  that  our  children  will  grow  up  in  igno- 
rance, for,  if  I  remain  here,  I  will  have  good 
schools  ;" — and  then  told  the  gentleman  some  of  his 
plans  for  the  future.  "  Oh,"  said  the  latter,  "  those 
are  nothing  but  schemes  and  the  notions  of  a  Penn- 
sylvania Yankee,  and  it  is  all  mere  wind-work.  You 
will  never  carry  them  out."  All  this  was  spoken  in 
a  somewhat  sarcastic  tone,  and  Mr.  M'Ginnes  felt 
it,  and  quickly  replied,  "I  have  seen  some  Neiu  York 
Yankees  who  had  all  the  vices  of  the  real  Yankees, 
without  half  their  virtues."  This  cutting  rejoinder 
instantaneously  raised  a  hearty  laugh. 

In  heart  Mr.  M'Ginnes  excelled.  He  possessed 
noble  traits  of  character.  An  excellent  man,  very 
much  like  him,  once  remarked  of  him,  with  his  usual 
earnestness,  "he  had  more  soul  than  any  man  living." 
The  following  letter,  too,  from  the  pen  of  a  pious 
but  anxious  mother,  exhibits  not  only  the  confidence 
that  his  character  inspired,  but  also  the  fact  that  the 
12* 


138  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

more  closely  we  came  in  contact  ^Yith  him,  the  more 
highly  would  that  character  be  appreciated.  She 
writes,  ''  On  reading  the  subscription  to  this  letter 
you  will,  no  doubt,  my  dear  sir,  feel  a  momentary 
surprise,  and  wonder  why  a  stranger  addresses  you. 
Not  to  keep  you  in  suspense  then,  I  will  hasten  to 
inform  you  that  I  write  to  ask  your  aid  to  win  a  be- 
loved child  to  the  Saviour.  This  child  is  my  youngest 

born.    It  is ,  who  was  at  one  time  a  room-mate  of 

yours,  and  who  has  for  your  character  a  high  esteem, 
and  who  admires  your  preaching.  0,  he  is  in  a  deep, 
deep  sleep,  and  I  want,  if  possible,  to  arouse  him. 
Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  address  a  few  lines  to  him? 
Sometimes  a  personal  address  is  blessed,  when  every 
other  means  has  failed.  I  make  no  apology  for 
making  this  request.  You  are  a  minister  and  a  dis- 
ciple of  the  Saviour,  who  went  about  doing  good; 
and  whether  the  effort  is  blessed  or  not,  you  will  re- 
ceive the  thanks  of  an  anxious  mother,  who,  though 
a  stranger,  is  your  friend — she  hopes  in  Christian 
bonds." 

For  strict  conscientiousness,  generous  impulse, 
warm-hearted  sympathy,  and  untiring  zeal  for  his 
Master's  honor,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  Mr. 
M'Ginnes's  superior.  He  once  said,  when  speaking 
of  his  multiplied  labors,  that  he  wished  to  live  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  according  to  the  dictates  of  an 
enlightened  conscience,  so  that  when  he  came  to  die, 
he  would  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  die.  At  another 
time,  he  gave  to  his  family  his  views  of  the  importance 


HIS    CHARACTER.  139 

of  family  religion  in  a  most  impressive  manner.  Not 
long  after  this,  he  expected  to  be  absent  all  day  sur- 
veying. His  wife  thought  that  she  would  let  him 
rest  that  morning  as  long  as  he  wished,  and  the 
family  ate  their  breakfast  without  him.  When  he 
arose,  his  breakfast  was  ready  for  him,  and  in  their 
hurry  to  get  him  started  worship  was  forgotten. 
Soon  as  he  returned  in  the  evening,  he  inquired 
whether  family  worship  had  not  been  neglected  in 
the  morning?  His  wife  said,  that  it  had  been.  "  Oh," 
said  he,  "  this  ought  not  so  to  be.  Have  my  vine 
and  olive  plants  been  this  day  sheltered  beneath  a 
roof,  from  which  no  family  prayer  has  ascended? 
I  bad  rather  leave  you  in  a  house  without  a  roof 
than  in  a  prayerless  house.".  He  said  that  he  had 
often  thought  of  the  omission  during  the  day  ;  and 
when  the  time  for  evening  worship  arrived,  he,  in  a 
solemn  manner,  confessed  their  omission  of  duty, 
and  purposed  to  endeavor  after  new  obedience  in 
future. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  ''the  love  of  money"  was 
his  failing.  He  was  generous  to  a  fault.  He  said, 
by  his  conduct,  with  Melancthon,  "  Let  me  abound 
in  good  works,  and  I  care  not  who  abounds  in 
riches."  Often  has  he  been  heard  to  thank  the 
Lord  for  giving  him  a  liberal  heart.  "  A  liberal 
soul  deviseth  liberal  things,"  was  one  of  his  favorite 
expressions.  He  was  charitable  without  ostentation, 
and  "in  all  things  showed  himself  a  pattern  of  good 
works."     His  wife,  being  one  day  from  home,   re- 


140  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

ceived  many  thanks  from  a  poor  family  to  whose  ne- 
cessities Mr.  M'Ginnes  had  been  ministering,  but 
about  which  Mrs.  M'Ginnes  knew  nothing.  In 
speaking  of  it,  afterwards,  to  her  husband,  she  re- 
marked that  there  was  a  luxury  in  doing  good  which 
he  should  share  with  her.  "  Oh,"  said  he,  smiling, 
"  I  prefer  not  to  let  my  right  hand  know  what  my 
left  hand  doeth."  A  few  days  after  his  return  from 
Canonsburg,  a  widow  lady  visited  him,  and  as  they 
were  talking  about  their  temporal  concerns,  he  spoke 
of  a  certain  debt  that  he  intended  to  forgive  her. 
She  modestly  replied, ''  Mr.  M'Ginnes,  you  are  liberal 
far  beyond  your  means  ;  besides,  you  have  a  rising 
family  to  provide  for."  "  Well,"  said  he,  ^'  ^  I  have 
never  seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  seed  beg- 
ging bread.'  He  who  feeds  '  the  young  ravens  which 
cry,'  will  not  suffer  my  little  ones  to  want." 

He  was  not  only  remarkably  benevolent,  but  he 
was  also  sympathizing  and  kind  towards  all  who  suf- 
fered. To  a  pious  young  friend  in  sorrow  he  wrote, 
*'  Be  resigned  ;  you  are  not  a  lone  w^anderer,  with 
none  in  whom  to  confide,  with  none  to  pour  the  balm 
of  consolation  into  your  wounded  spirit.  .  .  .  Re- 
member that  you  have  'a  friend  that  sticketh  closer 
than  a  brother.'  0,  it  is  delightful  to  be  able  to  say 
in  the  spirit  of  meek  resignation,  'Not  my  will  but 
thine  be  done.'  It  is  delightful  to  be  able  to  point 
you  to  Him  who  has  said,  '  In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulation,  but  be  of  good  cheer  ;  I  have  over- 
come the  world.'     Now  you  can  plead  the  promises. 


HIS    CHARACTER.  141 

Friends  may  forsake  you;  disease  may  lay  its  'wither- 
ing hand  upon  you,  and  steal  the  sparkling  lustre 
from  your  eye,  and  the  bloom  of  health  from  your 
cheek;  every  earthly  hope  may  wither  in  the  bud; 
the  bright  visions  that,  like  the  deluge  dove,  have 
gone  forth  winged  with  desire,  may  come  back 
weary  and  unsatisfied  at  finding  the  world  a  waste  ; 
yet,  if  you  are  a  child  of  grace,  you  have  amidst  it 
all  a  consolation,  which  the  world  can  neither  give 
nor  take  away.  The  condescending  Spirit  'helpeth 
our  infirmities.'  He  takes  upon  him  a  portion  of 
our  burdens  to  relieve  us  of  their  pressure,  supports 
our  drooping  spirits,  revives  our  dying  hopes,  leads 
to  the  fountain  of  life,  and,  as  an  earnest  of  the 
heavenly  inheritance,  gives  us  a  foretaste  of  those 
joys  that  bloom  fresh  as  the  unwithering  flowers  of 
Eden,  in  the  paradise  above.  Be  of  good  cheer 
then,  you  have  friends  on  earth,  and  you  have 
friends  in  heaven."  To  the  same  friend  he  again 
wrote,  "God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb. 
If  he  depresses  with  one  hand  he  will  uphold  with 
the  other.  If  sorrow  weighs  down  the  heart,  to 
counteract  its  influence  he  will  throw  around  you 
ten  thousand  sources  of  pleasure.  .  .  .  Earth  is  not 
all  gloom.  It  has  its  pleasures — its  social  sympathies 
— its  domestic  ties.  True,  they  are  short-lived,  but 
still  they  are  a  cup  of  blessings  in  solitude  or  in 
society,  at  noon  or  at  even. 

0,  'tis  sweet,  at  even's  silent  hour, 
To  gaze  on  yon  blue  vault  above  ; 


142  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

On  faith's  triumphant  wing  to  soar, 

To  that  bright  world  where  all  is  love. 
'Tis  sweet  to  bow  at  memory's  shrine, 

To  muse  on  early  pleasures  fled  ; 
And  o'er  that  spot,  the  willow  twine, 

Where  sleeps  the  loved,  the  sacred  dead. 
'Tis  sweet  to  roam  by  some  lone  stream. 

And  hear  its  waters  murmur  by  ; 
Where  moonlight  beauty  sheds  its  beam. 

And  whispering  nightwinds  gently  sigh. 
'Tis  sweet  amidst  earth's  selfishness. 

When  friendship's  boon  is  given  ; 
A  pledge  of  love,  and  joy,  and  peace, 

An  antepast  of  heaven. 
But  all  is  fleeting  as  a  dream, 

Life,  health,  and  youth  must  fade  ; 
Though  bright  as  morning  sunlight's  beam, 

'Twill  close  in  midnight  shade. 
Religion  only  can  impart 

Hope's  loveliest,  brightest  ray  ; 
It  flings  a  halo  round  the  heart, 

And  points  to  endless  day. 

Yes,  it  is  religion,  and  that  alone,  that  can  cheer  us 
amidst  life's  changes.  It  is  the  faith  of  the  gospel 
that  supports  the  mourner,  and  that  sheds  a  lustre 
around  the  pillow  of  the  dying  saint ;  ^  Hope  of  the 
comfortless,  when  all  others  cease,  fadeless  and 
pure.'  " 

Only  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  when  he  was 
taking  a  review  of  his  past  history,  he  said  to  his  wife, 
"We  have  shared  each  other's  sorrows,  we  have  wept 
each  other's  tears."  She  could  truly  reply,  that  she 
had  never  known  a  sorrow  that  was  long  unsoothed 
by  him. 


HIS    CHARACTER.  143 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter,  of  August 
6th,  1846,  addressed  to  his  wife's  sister  and  her  hus- 
band on  the  death  of  their  infant  son,  eleven  months 
old,  is  another  specimen  of  the  happy  manner  in 
which  he  could  present  consolation  to  the  afflicted  ; 
and  we  believe  that  the  extract  will  be  acceptable  to 
many  of  our  readers,  who  have  met  with  a  similar 
loss,  and  whose  hearts,  in  consequence,  have  often 
gushed  with  sorrow.  Says  he :  "  To  tell  you  that 
our  sympathies  and  tears  flow",  and  that  our  prayers 
ascend  for  you  in  the  dark  hour  of  your  tribulation, 
would  be  to  tell  you  what  is  true.  Our  hearts  bleed 
for  you,  and  gladly  would  we  offer  you  every  com- 
fort and  consolation  in  our  power.  You  have  lost 
the  cherub-smile  of  your  baby  boy;  and  every  hope, 
that  fondly  twined  around  a  father's  and  mother's 
heart,  has  been  torn  away  as  if  by  some  ruthless  hand, 
and  those  hearts'  warm  affections  have  been  left  to 
flow  back  cold  and  icy  upon  themselves. 

"  0,  how  much  have  we  to  remind  us  of  the  solemn 
declaration  of  the  Spirit,  '  vanity  of  vanities  ;  all  is 
vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.'  What  can  we  call 
our  own !  There  is  not  a  tie  that  binds  to  earth  but 
shall  be  severed.  Our  children  are  around  us  to-day 
in  their  freshness,  their  youth,  and  beauty,  and  our 
'  mountain  stands  strong.'  We  look  at  them  again 
and  start  back  in  astonishment,  for  the  seal  of  the 
grim  monster  is  upon  them  ;  and  the  voice  of  inspi- 
ration comes  stealing  in  sadness  over  the  soul,  '  All 
flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the 


144  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

flower  of  the  field.'  Bat  blessed  be  God,  this  is  not 
the  final  issue. 

"  ^  The  separation  is  not  for  ever,'  said  a  young 
missionary  a  few  days  ago,  as  he  clasped  his  aged 
mother  in  his  embrace,  and  then  tore  himself  away 
to  proclaim  salvation  to  the  heathen.  '  Thy  brother 
shall  rise  again,'  said  Jesus  to  his  disconsolate 
friends.  And  thy  babe  shall  rise,  and  you  shall  be 
with  it  in  that  blessed  heaven  where  separation  never 
comes,  and  where  the  ties  of  love  remain  for  ever  un- 
broken. ^  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these 
words.'  Said  a  gentleman  once,  when  standing  on 
the  bank  of  the  Hudson,  '  I  always  admired  the 
scenery  of  the  country  on  the  other  side  of  the  river ; 
but  I  confess  that  it  has  attractions  now  that  it  never 
before  had.'  'What  are  they  ?'  inquired  his  friend. 
'Why,'  replied  he,  '  my  beloved  son  removed  there 
a  few  days  ago,  and  resides  in  yonder  house ;  and 
my  thoughts  turn  to  it  now  a  thousand  times,  to 
where  they  did  once  before.' 

"  And,  dear  friends,  another  cord  which  bound  you 
to  earth  is  loosened.  You  now  have  another  tie  to 
draw  your  hearts  away  from  earth,  and  call  your 
thoughts  to  heaven.  You  would  not,  if  you  could, 
recall  your  cherub  back  to  the  dark  world.  You 
would  not,  if  you  could,  remove  it  from  the  arms  of 
the  blessed  Shepherd,  or  from  the  smiles  of  his  coun- 
tenance. Well  then,  if  it  cannot  return  to  you,  pre- 
pare to  go  to  it.  Go,  trust  the  promises  of  the 
Saviour,  and  rest  upon  the  riches  of  his   almighty 


HIS    CHARACTER.  145 

grace.  Yet  a  little  while,  and  your  race  will  be  run, 
your  toils  ended,  and  you  too  shall  join  that  blessed 
company,  and  gather  around  the  throne,  a  happy 
family,  where  every  tear  is  wiped  from  every  weep- 
ing eye,  and  every  sigh  banished  from  every  aching 
heart. 

"  May  the  Lord  sanctify  this  afflictive  dispensation 
of  his  providence  to  you,  and  support  you  by  the 
blessed  consolations  of  his  gospel,  is  the  prayer  of 
your  brother, 

"J.  Y.  M'GlNNES." 

Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  especially  distinguished  for 
activity  and  energy  of  character.  His  motto  seems 
to  have  been  from  his  constant  activity  in  behalf  of 
both  education  and  religion,  "Nil  sine  labore."  Such 
a  word  as  impossihle  was  not  found  in  his  vocabulary. 
And  whenever  any  of  his  students  would  come  to 
him,  and  tell  him  that  they  could  not  succeed  with 
their  studies,  he  would  tell  them  that  the  word 
"can't"  should  be  erased  from  their  vocabulary,  and 
the  words  "try  again"  be  substituted  in  its  place  ; 
making  that  their  motto,  as  he  had  done. 

Whatever  he  undertook  he  was  determined  to  carry 
through.  No  obstacles  could  terrify  or  dishearten 
him.  Difficulties  seemed  only  the  more  to  develope 
his  natural  genius.  It  has  already  been  stated  that 
when  he  started  the  Academy,  he  had  but  one  or  two 
boys  for  several  weeks.  "Why,"  said  a  shrewd  ob- 
server,  "  that  would  have  frozen  the  soul  out  of  any 

13 


146  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

common  man.''  "Ah,"  said  he  to  his  brother,  who 
seenied  discouraged  with  the  undertaking,  "  they  will 
come  flocking  in  by  and  by."  And  in  reference  to 
his  securing  some  appropriation  from  the  State  in 
behalf  of  the  Academy,  having  failed  in  his  first 
attempt,  he  remarked,  just  before  his  death,  that  he 
had  another  project  in  view  in  regard  to  it;  and 
said,  that  he  was  determined  to  leave  no  stone  un- 
turned to  accomplish  it. 

A  correspondent  writes  :  "  Cheerfulness,  energy, 
and  industry  prominently  characterized  him.  He 
seemed  eminently  to  enjoy  the  present,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  live  for  the  future.  Cheerful,  when 
others  would  have  been  sad,  he  ever  had  in  view  the 
accomplishment  of  a  future  good.  In  view  of  diffi- 
culties, which  would  have  intimidated  others,  he  was 
courageous,  determined,  and  persevering.  He  was 
too  conscientious  and  magnanimous  to  swerve  from 
principle.  Notwithstanding  the  weakness  of  his 
frame,  he  was  ever  fired  for  action,  ever  ready  to  un- 
dergo difficulty,  and  to  confront  danger  in  the  dis- 
charge of  duty,  and  in  the  accomplishment  of  noble 
ends  by  noble  means ;  and  he  never  failed  for  ivant 
of  energy.  "With  a  higher  and  holier  end  in  view,  he 
was  much  like  Bonaparte  himself,  and  of  one  as  well 
as  of  the  other  it  could  be  said,  '  every  action  incited 
him  only  to  a  new  one.'  " 

But  a  crowning  excellence  was,  that  he  consecra- 
ted all  his  attainments  to  Christ.  In  labor  or  in  suf- 
fering he  gloried  only  in  "the  cross."     No  one  who 


HIS    CHARACTER.  147 

really  knew  him  could  doubt  his  personal  piety.  His 
faith,  repentance,  and  hope,  as  well  as  his  holy  and 
useful  life,  have  all  been  illustrated  in  his  previous 
history. 

Professor  Morrow  writes  :  "In  a  conversation  with 
Mr.  M'Ginnes,  in  relation  to  his  accepting  of  the 
invitation  to  deliver  the  anniversary  address  before 
the  literary  societies  of  Jefferson  College,  after  pre- 
senting many  reasons  why  I  thought  he  ought  to 
accept,  I  remarked  that  the  invitation  was  flattering 
to  a  young  man,  and  the  honor  sufficient  to  mark  the 
period  as  an  epoch  in  his  life.  To  which  he  replied, 
'  I  think  I  have  learned  to  lay  self  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross.  If  I  thought  that  it  would  increase  my  influ- 
ence as  a  minister  of  Christ  I  would  go.'  The  reply 
savored  so  of  an  entire  consecration  to  the  Saviour, 
that  it  left  an  impression  on  me  which  eternity  shall 
not  erase.  And  I  trust  it  has  been  blessed  in  teach- 
ing me,  more  fully,  tl^e  object  for  which  I  should  live." 

The  following  extracts  are  given  as  corroborative 
of  the  views  above  expressed  of  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  cha- 
racter, the  last  two  being  received  since  those  views 
were  penned.  J.  Alfred  Shade,  M.D.,  says:  "My 
acquaintance  with  the  late  Rev.  J.  Y.  M'Ginnes  be- 
gan with  the  period  of  his  taking  charge  of  the  con- 
gregation at  Shade  Gap,  and  continued  without  in- 
terruption till  his  death.  During  this  time  ample 
opportunity  was  afforded  me  of  estimating  his  quali- 
ties and  character. 

"  As  a  citizen  he  was  in  the  front  rank  of  every 


148  LIFE     OF    EEV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

movement  identified  with  the  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity. The  magical  change  in  the  face  of  affairs  in 
his  neighborhood,  that  ensued  so  rapidly  after  his 
coming,  was  owing  mainly  to  his  untiring  energy  ; 
and,  at  this  day,  he  is  quoted  by  all  classes  of  people 
as  the  architect  of  the  fortunes  of  the  flourishing 
village  where  he  lived  and  died. 

"  He  was  eminently  social  in  his  nature,  and  liberal 
in  his  feelings,  which  led  him  to  mix  freely  with  the 
people  at  large,  each  of  whom  came  in  time  to  value 
him  as  a  friend  and  esteem  him  as  a  neighbor.  His 
Christianity  was  of  a  cheerful,  benignant  character, 
exonerating  him  from  bringing  religion  into  disrepute 
by  clothing  it  with  the  unfriendly  feature  of  cold  re- 
serve, that  occasionally  renders  hypocrisy  so  transpa- 
rent. A  spirit  of  true  benevolence  and  charity  was, 
perhaps,  the  predominant  trait  in  his  Christian  cha- 
racter. To  the  poor  he  was  ever  a  friend,  with  a  kind 
voice  and  a  plentiful  hand  contributing  to  alleviate 
their  condition.  No  man  not  exclusively  devoted  to 
the  work,  was  found  more  frequently  at  the  bedside  of 
the  sick  and  dying,  or  in  the  house  of  suffering  ;  and 
never  did  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  appear  to  better 
advantage  than  in  the  hour  and  place  of  darkness  and 
grief.  Perhaps  it  was,  in  a  measure,  owing  to  his 
large  experience  of  suffering  in  his  own  person  that 
he  was  so  fully  able  to  enter  into  the  feelings  of  others 
in  distress,  and  to  yield  them  his  sympathies  in  so  abun- 
dant a  degree. 

"  All  his  labors  were  accomplished  under  great  physi- 


HIS    CHARACTER.  149 

cal  disadvantages.  Daring  the  whole  of  his  residence 
here  his  health  was  very  infirm.  Often  have  I  known 
him  so  prostrated  as  to  be  scarcely  capable  of  any 
exertion,  yet,  under  the  stimulus  of  an  ardent  desire 
to  be  found  in  the  way  of  duty,  when  the  hour  of  his 
appointment  to  preach  had  arrived  he  would  brace 
himself  for  the  effort,  and  be  in  his  place,  though  the 
consequences  were  almost  constantly  disastrous  to  his 
already  enfeebled  frame.  The  loss  of  such  a  man  to 
his  family  and  congregation,  and  indeed  to  his  entire 
neighborhood,  seems  irreparable ;  but  our  loss  is  his 
infinite  gain." 

The  Rev.  James  Harper,  of  Shippensburg,  for 
whom  he  had  often  preached  when  visiting  his 
friends  at  that  place,  writes  thus  :  "  Brother  M'Gin- 
nes  I  loved  and  admired  very  much,  and  always  lis- 
tened to  him  as  a  preacher  with  delight.  He  was  be- 
loved, and  held  in  great  admiration  by  the  young  peo- 
ple of  this  place.  Full  of  life  and  energy,  possessing 
a  large  fund  of  anecdote,  an  excellent  mimic,  and  en- 
cumbered with  no  professional  reserve,  he  seemed  to 
enter  with  all  his  heart  into  their  innocent  gaieties. 
This,  no  doubt,  you  are  prepared  to  admit,  has  its 
advantages  and  disadvantages. 

"  His  conversational  powers  were  excellent.  Ver- 
satility and  brilliancy  marked  the  character  of  his 
mind  and  attainments.  Acquainted  with  a  wide 
range  of  subjects,  more  time  and  concentrated 
thought  and  attention,  would  have  made  him  a  profi- 
cient in  any  one  branch  of  learning.  His  discourses 
13* 


150  LIFE     OF     REV.    J.    Y.    m'gINNES. 

preached  here,  combined  clearness  of  conception, 
richness  of  fancy,  and  accuracy  of  thought.  His 
theological  attainments  struck  me  as  being  highly 
respectable,  and  to  the  Calvinistic  system  he  was 
strongly  attached,  not  because  of  early  parental  in- 
struction only,  but  after  careful  investigation,  and 
heartfelt  conviction.  Frequently  did  he  present  doc- 
trines, which  have  always  provoked  controversy,  so 
interwoven  with  fine  illustration,  as  to  command  the 
patient  and  even  delighted  att^tion  of  the  opposers 
of  those  views,  which  he  conscientiously  entertained. 
He  was  gifted  in  prayer,  and  notwithstanding  his 
buoyancy  in  private,  which  some  thought  approached 
at  times  to  levity,  no  one  who  really  knew  him  could 
doubt  his  personal  piety. 

"  But  a  short  time  before  his  death,  we  had  listened 
to  his  voice,  with  which  we  were  all  familliar,  in  dis- 
coursing upon  'The  Church  of  God.'  Some  months 
previous  to  this  time,  he  preached  a  truly  eloquent 
sermon,  on  the  forenoon  of  a  communion  Sabbath,  from 
these  words,  '  Blessed  are  they  which  are  called  unto 
the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb.'  The  audience 
was  more  affected  by  this  discourse,  than  by  any 
other  delivered  by  him.  He  was  more  than  usually 
animated,  and  his  addresses  at  the  tables  were  appro- 
priate and  melting.  Among  the  last  sermons  that  he 
preached  to  our  people  was  one  from  these  words, 
*  Be  not  slothful,  but  followers  of  them  who  through 
faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises.'  " 

The  Rev.    William  J.   Gibson,  D.D.,  recently  of 


HIS    CHARACTER.  151 

Williamsburg,  and  a  near  neighbor  of  Brother  M'Gin- 
nes,  has  sent  me  the  following  very  acceptable 
communication  : — 

"  I  am  much  pleased  that  you  have  it  in  contem- 
plation to  publish  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  our  late 
worthy  and  much  respected  and  beloved  brother,  the 
Rev.  James  Y.  M'Ginnes. 

"You  are  right  in  supposing  that  my  relations  to 
him  were  intimate  during  at  least  a  part  of  the  time 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Huntingdon. 
Before  his  coming  within  our  bounds,  and  taking 
charge  of  one  of  our  congregations,  I  had  no  ac- 
quaintance with  him.  My  intercourse  with  him  was 
quite  intimate  for  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  his 
life.  Yet,  I  do  not  suppose  that  I  could  give  you 
any  new  views  of  his  character,  beyond  what  all  his 
brethren  of  our  Presbytery  can  testify  to,  with  much 
fewer  opportunities  for  observation,  and  less  intimate 
relations.  For  this  was  one  of  the  excellencies  of 
his  character,  that  he  was  at  once  perfectly  transpa- 
rent, being  frank  in  his  disposition,  and  without  dis- 
guise. You  knew  the  man  at  the  first  interview,  and 
all  that  after-acquaintance  could  certify  you  of  was, 
that  he  was  the  same  man  still". 

"  As  to  his  public  virtues  and  excellencies,  his  cha- 
racteristics as  a  gifted  and  eloquent  preacher,  all 
who  ever  heard  him  will  tell  you,  if  on  these  points 
you  needed  any  testimony  ;  but  I,  with  no  less  ap- 
preciation of  his  endowments  as  a  preacher,  can  testify 
that  his  social  and  private  virtues  were  not  less  con- 
spicuous  than  his  public  talents.     At  all  times  he 


152  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'GINNES. 

was  found  to  be  a  cheerful,  pleasant,  and  open-hearted 
companion.  His  own  house  was  the  place  where  he 
was  pre-eminently  to  be  seen  as  the  kind,  courteous, 
and  hospitable  friend.  Unostentatious,  he  was  never- 
theless lavish  of  his  hospitality ;  and  his  guest  felt 
at  once  as  fully  at  his  ease,  as  if  in  the  house  of  his 
own  brother.  There  was  nothing  sordid  or  contracted 
in  all  his  character.  The  little  meannesses  and  sordid 
traits  of  character,  which  sometimes  obscure  even 
considerable  talents,  had  no  place  in  this  beloved 
brother ;  and  beloved,  I  may  say,  more  on  account 
of  his  freedom  from  this  alloy,  and  of  his  noble  and 
generous  disposition,  than  for  his  admitted  admirable 
and  acceptable  public  talents. 

"  As  I  appreciated  highly  his  social  and  private 
virtues,  so  I  had  occasion  to  know  of  his  faithful, 
laborious,  and  self-denying  discharge  of  his  public 
duties.  He  was  never  disposed  to  spare  himself, 
even  on  occasions  when  he  might  well  have  done  so, 
and  when,  perhaps,  prudence  would  have  dictated 
the  propriety  of  some  rest.  I  have  known  him  to 
appoint  extra  services  for  himself  on  communion 
seasons,  at  different  points  of  his  congregation,  in 
the  evenings,  while  his  assistant  was  engaged  in 
preaching  in  the  church,  or  in  some  other  central 
point  of  the  congregation.  And  this  attracted  my 
particular  notice,  as  he  never  was,  during  the  time 
of  my  acquaintance  with  him,  in  full  health,  and  was 
readily  overcome  by  a  little  unusual  labor.  These 
appointments  he  never  failed  to  meet,  and  on  the 
two  occasions  which  I  witnessed,  I  thought  them  in- 


HIS    CHARACTER.  153 

judicious  in  one  of  such  an  infirm  constitution,  and 
the  event  in  both  cases  proved  my  private  views  cor- 
rect,— on  both  occasions  he  was  unfitted  for  the  ser- 
vices of  the  next  day.  I  mention  the  facts,  therefore, 
not  to  commend  them  to  general  imitation,  but  to 
show  how  his  heart  was  in  his  appropriate  work,  and 
how  laborious  and  self-denying  he  was  in  the  per- 
formance of  it. 

"Upon  the  whole,  with  regard  to  our  departed  Bro- 
ther M'Ginnes,  I  held  his  character  in  the  highest 
estimation  in  private  and  in  public,  as  a  man,  and  as 
a  Christian  minister.  He  had  few  superiors  as  an 
earnest  and  eloquent  preacher,  and  he  was  most  at- 
tractive in  ordinary  life  as  a  companion  and  a  friend. 
No  doubt  he  had  his  faults  and  infirmities — who  has 
not  ? — but  his  excellencies  were  numerous  and  pro- 
minent, and  far  overbalanced  all  ordinary  defects  of 
character.  Indeed,  if  he  had  any  great  defects  of 
character,  I  was  not  in  a  condition  to  notice  them, 
as  my  sincere  and  hearty  affection  for  the  man  closed 
my  eyes  to  all  common  blemishes.  I  mourned  greatly 
the  removal  of  such  a  brother  from  our  association, 
and  from  the  Church  of  God  on  earth,  '  a  burning 
and  a  shining  light.*  Few  like  him  in  all  respects 
are  left. 

"  Let  it  be  our  prayer  that  God  may  in  the  future 
raise  up  many  such  ministers  ;  and  I  am  sure  his 
sainted  spirit,  if  now  present,  would  also  add — and 
more  abundantly  endowed  for  and  devoted  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  than  he  "whose  gifts  and  graces 
were  of  no  ordinary  character." 


151  LIFE    OF    REV.   J.   Y.    m'gINNES. 


REFLECTIONS. 
From  the  preceding  narrative  we  may  learn^ — 

I.  The  Advantages  of  a  Pious  Ancestry. — The 
children  of  believing  parents,  from  their  very  con- 
stitution, are  ordinarily  more  hopeful  subjects  of 
salvation,  than  are  the  children  of  the  vicious  and 
depraved.  For,  though  "  shapen  in  iniquity  and  con- 
ceived in  sin,"  and  thus  "by  nature  the  children  of 
wrath,  even  as  others,"  yet  they  start  into  being 
with  nobler  powers,  and  more  susceptible  of  improve- 
ment, and  so  furnishing  more  hope  of  their  ultimate 
salvation. 

Mental  and  moral  powers  are  as  much  hereditary 
as  physical ;  every  lineament  of  the  one  as  well  as  of 
the  other,  has  its  counterpart  in  the  parent.  The 
laws  that  regulate  our  higher  nature  are  as  uniform 
and  certain  in  their  results  as  those  that  regulate 
our  physical  being.  Hence  family  resemblances  are 
as  striking  from  their  mental  and  moral  peculiarities, 
as  from  the  outlines  of  their  bodies.  In  both  cases, 
the  old  adage  holds  true,  "  Like  parent,  like  child." 
Thus  parents  occupy  a  very  responsible  position,  and 
should  be  very  guarded  as  to  what  feelings  they 
cherish,  as  also,  as  to  what  habits  th^y  form,  and 
what  examples  they  set. 

But  a  pious  ancestry  is  a  great  blessing,  not  only 
because  children  commence  life  with  a  nobler  being, 


ADVANTAGES    OF    A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.     155 

but  also  because  they  thus  start  under  circumstances 
far  more  favorable  than  do  others.  They  are  then 
favored  with  an  early  religious  training.  This  is  an 
advantage  unspeakably  great.  Then,  when  their 
minds  are  most  susceptible  of  impression,  the  holy 
precepts  of  the  gospel  are  instilled  into  them,  accom- 
panied with  godly  examples  and  believing  prayers. 
These,  in  connexion  with  good  principles,  are  the 
very  best  legacy  any  parent  can  leave  his  children. 
They  are  far  better  than  riches,  or  than  any  earthly 
good.  And  yet  how  many  parents  manifest  more 
anxiety  to  leave  to  their  children  property  of  some 
kind,  than  this  better  portion, — are  more  eager  to 
enrich  than  to  save  them.  Truly  wise  and  blessed 
are  those  who,  like  faithful  Abraham,  *'  command 
their  children,  and  their  households  after  them,  to 
keep  the  way  of  the  Lord;"  or,  like  Joshua,  resolve, 
"As  for  me  and  ray  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord." 
Still  farther,  the  divine  promise  is  attached  to  such 
an  ancestry.  God  says  to  believing  parents,  "  I  will 
be  a  God  to  thee,  and  unto  thy  seed  after  thee." 
Again,  "  The  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  chil- 
dren." And  again,  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way 
he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart 
from  it."  All  these  truths  were  verified  in  the  case 
of  Mr.  M'Ginnes.  He  was  gifted  by  nature.  He 
was  religiously  educated,  and  in  him  were  the  pro- 
mises fulfilled  ;  as  well  said  his  father  upon  the  joyful 
intelligence  of  the  conversion  of  his  son.  He  ac- 
knowledged the  event  to  be  the  gift  of  God  in  answer 


156  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

to  his  prayers  for  him,  and  expressed  his  matured 
conviction  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  as  a  covenant- 
God. 

II.  The    Importance   of    Children   becoming 

EARLY  familiar  WITH  A  FORM  OF  SoUND  WORDS. — 

It  should  never  be  neglected  in  any  household  of  the 
covenant.  It  is  one  of  the  appointed  instrumentali- 
ties of  God  for  the  conversion  and  edification  of  our 
families.  It  has  often  been  honored  of  God  as  such. 
Neglecting  it,  we  expose  our  children  to  great  injury, 
if  not  to  final  ruin.  They  will  then  be  likely  to  be 
*' carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine."  The 
memorizing  of  Scripture,  and  of  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism, cannot  be  too  much  insisted  upon  in  all  our 
households.  The  benefits  of  this  course  will  be  long 
felt  in  after  years.  Many,  who  in  their  early  years 
found  the  catechism  a  dry  task,  have  in  their  riper 
years  greatly  rejoiced,  that  they  were  early  required 
to  become  familiar  with  it.  If  it  is  not  committed 
to  memory  when  we  are  young,  it  will  most  likely  be 
neglected  ever  after.  Family  catechizing  is  becoming 
too  much  in  our  day  a  mere  byword.  The  good  old 
practice  of  our  faithful  ancestors,  catechizing  all  the 
family  every  Sabbath  evening,  has  fallen  into  too  much 
disuse.  It  needs  to  be  speedily  and  fully  revived. 
It  is  fraught  with  blessings  of  inconceivable  value. 
No  child  knows  what  he  will  be  in  after  years,  and 
no  parent  knows  for  what  his  child  is  fitting.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  of  the  very  highest  importance  that  he 


THE    PRECIOUSNESS    OF    REVIVALS.      157 

become  early  familiar  with  our  doctrinal  standards, 
and  that  he  have  his  youthful  mind  well  stored  with 
the  precious  truths  of  God's  holy  word — that  he  may 
be  fitted  to  be  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth.  He 
will  be  thus  preparing  for  greater  usefulness. 

So  it  was  with  our  departed  brother.  His  early 
training — his  early  familiarity  with  the  precepts  of 
the  Bible,  and  with  the  standards  of  our  church — 
was  of  incalculable  benefit  to  him  in  all  his  future 
life.  Both  he,  and  his  parents,  were  fully  rewarded 
for  all  their  toil  and  care.  God  will  set  his  seal  of 
approbation  to  such  fidelity.  "  Go,  and  do  thou 
likewise." 

III.  The  Preciousness  of  Revivals  of  Reli- 
gion, ESPECIALLY  IN   LiTERARY    INSTITUTIONS. — No 

tongue  can  express  the  joy  and  blessedness  of  one 
powerful  work  of  grace  in  either  an  academy  or  a 
college  ;  and  no  created  mind  can  measure  its  hal- 
lowed influence:  eternity  alone  can  fully  develope  its 
wide  and  widely  increasing  blessings.  It  fills  not 
only  earth,  but  heaven,  with  rejoicing.  Every  true 
convert  is  himself  happy,  and  many  a  parent's  heart 
is  made  to  leap  for  joy,  as  he  exclaims,  "  For  this 
my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again ;  he  was  lost,  and 
is  found."  And  it  is  written,  "  There  is  joy  in  the 
presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth" — how  much  more  joy,  then,  must  there 
be  in  heaven  over  many  sinners  that  repent,  and  who 

14 


158  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

are  destined  to  be  polished  shafts  in  the  Almighty's 
quiver. 

The  benefits  of  revivals  of  religion  in  literary  in- 
stitutions, are  seen  not  only  upon  those  institutions 
themselves,  in  elevating  the  standard  of  piety  therein, 
and  in  the  hopeful  conversion  of  many  among  the 
impenitent  and  unbelieving  ;  but  they  are  also  seen 
in  the  increase  of  the  number  of  candidates  for  the 
ministry,  whose  growing  influence  for  good  cannot  be 
estimated.  This  was  the  case  with  the  revival  that 
occurred  at  Jefferson  College  in  1834-5.  Out  of  the 
thirty  or  forty  hopeful  converts  at  that  time,  a  goodly 
number,  among  whom  was  Brother  M'Ginnes,  devoted 
themselves  to  the  arduous  and  self-denying  work  of 
the  holy  ministry.  So,  also,  in  the  revival  of  1851 
at  Shade  Gap,  not  less  than  eight  of  those  who  pro- 
fessed their  faith  and  hope  in  Christ,  purposed  to 
enter  the  ministry.  And  only  the  last  year,  a  friend 
writes,  "  Jefferson  has  been  blessed  with  a  precious 
season  of  revival.  It  began  on  the  day  set  apart  for 
special  prayer.  .  .  About  forty-five  students  have 
professed  a  hope.  Many,  who  had  not  thought  of 
it,  or  who  were  undecided,  are  now  looking  forward 
to  the  study  of  the  ministry.  I  trust  thousands 
shall  rejoice,  not  only  through  time,  but  through 
eternity's  ceaseless  ages,  and  praise  God  for  this 
revival."  Oglethorpe  University,  under  the  care  of 
the  Synod  of  Georgia,  has  a  similar  history  of  grace 
to  record.  President  Talmadge  writes :  "  Of  the 
senior  class,  consisting  of  fifteen,  all  but  one  pro- 


THE     PRECIOUS  NESS    OF     REVIVALS.       159 

fessecl  a  hope  in  Christ.  Of  those,  a  hirge  majority 
have  selected  the  Christian  ministry  as  their  chosen 
work.  A  spirit  of  self-consecration,  and  an  interest 
in  foreign  missions,  have  been  awakened  throughout 
the  institution,  which  promise  happy  results."  Dr. 
Anderson,  the  President  of  Miami  University,  Ohio, 
thus  writes.  "  \Ye  had  a  very  precious  revival  of  re- 
ligion in  our  Institution,  just  after  the  day  of  special 
prayer,  which  was  the  means  of  bringing  about  fifty 
young  men  to  the  acknowledging  of  Christ.  There 
are  now  in  this  Institution  about .  one  hundred  pro- 
fessors of  religion,  of  whom  sixty  or  seventy  are 
looking  forward  to  the  ministry." 

These  are  but  samples  of  what  occur  in  every  re- 
vival in  all  our  literary  institutions.  The  very 
choicest  of  our  youth  are  thus  led  to  serve  the  Church 
in  an  ofiicial  capacity.  Who  will  not,  then,  long  and 
pray  continually  for  the  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit 
upon  all  the  institutions  of  learning  in  our  land,  that 
many  of  our  young  men,  who  are  pursuing  their  studies 
in  those  institutions,  may  be  called  and  qualified  by  the 
grace  of  God  for  the  work  of  the  ministry  ?  This 
is  our  only  hope  in  this  the  time  of  our  great  desti- 
tutions, both  at  home  and  abroad,  of  an  adequate 
supply  of  whole-souled,  able,  and  efficient  ministers. 
There  must  be  more  fervent  and  believing  prayer,  in 
the  closet,  the  family,  and  the  house  of  God,  that 
the  salt  of  divine  grace  may  be  cast  into  those  foun- 
tains of  influence",  as  well  as  more  hearty  consecra- 
tion of  children  to  God,  before  the  wants  of  our  be- 


160  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

loved  Zion  shall  be  supplied.  "  The  harvest  is  plen- 
teous, but  the  laborers  are  few.  Pray  ye,  therefore, 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  la- 
borers into  his  harvest." 

IV.  The  Ministry  ought  to  be  Supported.  One 
of  the  abounding  evils  existing  in  the  Church,  at  the 
present  day,  is  the  feeble  support  of  the  gospel  minis- 
try. It  is  because  the  Church,  at  this  period  of  her 
unparalleled  temporal  prosperity,  comes  so  far  short 
of  supplying  the  wants  of  her  own  pastors,  that  many 
pious  young  men,  it  is  believed,  turn  their  thoughts 
to  other  employments,  rather  than  to  serve  her  in  the 
ministry.  Next  to  the  want  of  the  powerful  work- 
ings of  the  Spirit  of  God  among  us,  and  especially  in 
our  literary  institutions,  in  answer  to  habitual,  impor- 
tunate prayer,  is  the  inadequate  support  of  the  minis- 
try the  grand  cause  of  so  few  additional  "  burning 
and  shining  lights"  being  raised  up  in  Christ's  spiri- 
tual temple; — the  reason  why  the  number  of  can- 
didates for  the  sacred  oflSce  is  decreasing,  rather  than 
rapidly  increasing  every  year,  as  the  age,  the  ^  state 
of  the  Church,  and  the  world  imperatively  demand. 

We  could  not  expect  else,  from  such  neglect  and 
abuse  of  Christ's  ascension  gift.  A  different  result 
would  be  miraculous.  It  would  be  God's  acting  without 
his  usual  divinely  appointed  agents.  Although  Ore- 
gon, Texas,  California,  New  Mexico,  and  the  wastes 
of  Zion  in  our  own  land,  call,  trumpet-tongued,  for 
help  in  their  destitute  condition ;  and  although, 
abroad,  in  the  wonderful  providence  of  God,  addi- 


THE     SUPPORT     OF     THE     MINISTRY.       161 

tional  overturnings  have  occurred,  and  Papal  Europe, 
as  well  as  Africa  and  India,  and  the  three  hundred 
millions  of  China,  are  anxiously  seeking  the  light  of 
truth,  are  extending  to  us  a  hearty  welcome,  are 
bidding  us  enter  their  coasts  and  their  capitals,  and 
scatter  abroad  "  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life  "which 
are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations;"  yet,  it  cannot 
be  expected  that  there  will  be  an  adequate  supply  of 
right-minded  and  "well-qualified  ministers,  while  the 
Church  is  so  recreant  to  the  trust  imposed  upon  her, 
and  heeds  so  little  one  of  the  plainest  dictates  of  rea- 
son and  revelation.  Says  a  late  writer — and  there  is 
more  truth,  human  and  divine,  in  it  than  some  seem 
disposed  to  admit — "  While  so  man}^  avenues  to  use- 
fulness and  honor,  with  respectability  and  worldly 
competence,  or  even  wealth,  are  open  to  young  men  ; 
while  the  life  of  the  theological  student  is  such  as  it 
is ;  while  the  ministry  presents  the  gloomy  prospect 
of  poverty,  w^ant,  embarrassment,  and  cankering 
care ;  a  destitute  old  age,  after  a  life  of  hard  labor, 
and  a  penniless  surviving  family ;  is  it  any  wonder 
that  so  very  few  of  our  promising  Christian  young 
men,  are  willing  to  give  themselves  to  this  work  ? 
'  The  heart  of  generous  piety  may  face  perils  by  land, 
and  perils  by  sea,  the  martyr's  block  and  stake  ;  but 
not  starveling  poverty,  and  all  the  other  ills  the 
ministry  of  the  present  day  is  heir  to.'  " 

Talent  is  capital,  and  it  should  secure  to  its  pos- 
sessor not  only  respect  but  profit,  as  much  so  as  any 
other  species  of  capital.     And  just  in  proportion  to 
14- 


162  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

the  frequency,  •willingness,  and  ability  of  ministerial 
labor,  ought  there  to  be  a  corresponding  willingness 
and  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  to  render  a  full 
equivalent ;  as  much  so  as  is  the  case  in  any  other 
profession.  Simple  justice  demands  it.  And  yet,  it 
seems  to  be  taken,  too  often,  for  granted,  that  a  minis- 
ter's labors  are  charitable  efforts,  because  he  is  en- 
gaged in  a  good  work.  Hence  it  is  that  many  persons, 
in  comfortable  circumstances  themselves,  attend  upon 
the  faithful  and  arduous  labors  of  their  pastor,  with- 
out contributing  anything  at  all  towards  his  support ; 
and  others  are  found  contributing  the  merest  trifle  to^ 
it,  without  regard  to  his  personal  and  social  relations, 
as  important  and  essential  to  be  observed  as  those 
•of  any  other  human  being  in  the  community.  But 
all  this  results  either  from  selfishness,  ignorance,  or 
negligence. 

The  disposition  also  manifested  in  too  many  of  our 
congregations  to  promise  at  best  but  a  feeble  support 
to  their  pastors,  and  then  to  fulfil  but  partially  these 
promises,  or  to  meet  a  large  part  of  them  in  the  way 
of  "  bargain  and  sale,"  at  a  high  percentage  of  pro- 
fit to  themselves,  is  fraught  with  serious  inconve- 
nience, if  not  injustice,  to  the  pastor  and  his  family. 
It  is  a  sin  and  a  shame  for  a  man  of  education, 
talents,  and  piety,  to  be  consuming  his  best  energies 
in  the  service  of  the  Church  w^ith  a  mere  pittance  of 
compensation  ;  his  nose,  in  consequence,  being  con- 
tinually kept  at  the  grindstone,  and  his  increasing 
family  scarcely  living  while  he  lives,  and  being  al- 


THE    SUPPORT     OF     THE     xMINISTRY.        163 

most  Avholly  unprovided  for  when  he  dies.  The  case 
of  Brother  M'Ginnes  in  these  respects  is  only  one 
out  of  hundreds  that  could  be  as  fully  sketched. 

There  are,  it  is  true,  some  honorable  exceptions, 
where  congregations  are  faithful  in  discharging  their 
assumed  obligations,  and,  that  he  "  may  be  free  from 
worldly  cares  and  avocations,"  cheerfully  do  for 
their  pastor  "  whatever  else  they  see  needful  for  the 
honor  of  religion,  and  his  comfort  while  among  them ;" 
and  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  own  case  had  its  "sunny  side." 
His  flock  at  Shade  Gap  is,  like  the  conies,  "  but  a 
feeble  folk  ;"  yet,  by  numerous  acts  of  kindness,  and 
by  their  liberal  effort  to  provide  for  his  family  a  par- 
sonage as  their  own  home,  they  almost  im.percepti- 
bly  gained  his  affections  and  bound  them  to  him  by 
the  cords  of  love.  But  the  evil  complained  of,  in  its 
various  phases,  is  too  common  in  the  most  of  our 
churches.  Wealth  pours  her  full  horn,  filled  from 
many  sources,  into  the  barns  and  storehouses  of  the 
several  members  of  our  flocks,  while  the  pastors  of 
those  flocks  seem  to  be  forgotten  and  unknown. 
"  For  all  seek  their  own,  not  the  things  which  are 
Jesus  Christ's." 

But  God  is  punishing  the  Church  for  such  neglect 
of  his  servants.  Because  of  it  many  congregations 
are  "  weak  and  sickly"  among  us  :  candidates  for  the 
ministry, — "faithful  men,  able  to  teach  others" — are 
decreasing ;  while  the  Church  is  either  deprived,  in 
part,  of  the  labors  of  those  whom  God  hath  "  counted 
faithful,  putting  them  into  the  ministry;"  because 


164  LIFE     OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M'GINNES. 

they  have  heen  compelled  to  devote  their  attention 
to  other  employments  also,  besides  the  ministry,  in 
order  to  secure  a  "competent  worldly  maintenance," 
which  their  stinted  salaries  do  not  afford ;  or  she  is 
deprived  of  them  altogether,  as  we  have  had  too 
mournful  evidence  of  for  several  years  past,  in  pastors 
being  overworked  amidst  their  anxieties  and  toils; 
and,  their  energies  being  exhausted,  they  have  ceased 
entirely  their  earthly  labors,  even  at  an  early  age. 
God  evidently  has  a  controversy  with  his  Church. 
The  fault,  however,  of  the  present  lamentable  state 
of  things  in  regard  to  the  ministry,  is  surely  hers, 
and  not  God's.  There  is  an  Achan  in  the  camp. 
There  has  been  the  coveting  and  the  hiding  of  "  a 
goodly  Babylonish  garment,  and  shekels  of  silver, 
and  a  wedge  of  gold."  There  has  been  a  keeping 
back  part  of  the  price  that  belonged  to  the  Lord's 
treasury.  Ephraim  has  been  joined  to  his  idols. 
Israel  hath  sinned,  and  they  have  also  transgressed 
the  covenant  vrhich  God  commanded  them.  Other- 
wise Zion  would  not  be  so  troubled,  and  visited  with 
such  spiritual  "blasting  and  mildew." 

Wherever  this  evil  referred  to  exists,  it  should  be 
speedily  remedied.  If  it  is  noi,  we  have  reason  to 
fear  that  we  shall  be  a  sinking  and  dying  church, 
instead  of  a  flourishing  vine.  The  enemy  will  come 
in  upon  our  Zion  like  a  flood,  and  there  will  be  none 
to  lift  up  a  standard  against  him.  Her  hedges  will 
be  broken  down,  so  that  all  they  which  pass  by  the 
way  will  pluck  her.      The  boar  out  of  the  wood  will 


THE    SUPPORT    OF    THE    MINISTRY.        165 

waste  her,  and  the  wild  beast  of  the  field  will  devour 
her.  Many  -u^ill  say,  Here  is  she  that  forsook  the 
commandment  of  the  Lord.     How  is  she  fallen  ! 

To  many  churches,  proper  views  and  right  practice 
on  the  subject  of  ministerial  support,  would  be  like 
"  life  from  the  dead."  It  must  be  remembered,  too, 
that  circumstances  have  changed  very  much  from 
what  they  once  were.  Owing  to  the  abundance  and 
cheapness  of  money  now  in  our  country,  to  the  multi- 
plied facilities  for  spending  it,  to  the  growing  pros- 
perity and  taste  of  all  classes,  to  the  advanced  prices 
of  living,  and  to  the  multiplied  wants  of  the  Church 
and  the  world,  demanding  imperatively  an  increase  of 
our  charities,  six  or  eight  dollars  now  will  hardly  go  as 
far  as  four  or  five  dollars  formerly  did.  So  that  no  con- 
gregation, that  has  been  blessed  of  God  in  temporal 
things,  should  think  of  ofi'ering,  a  pastor  now  a  salary 
of  a  less  amount  than  six  or  eight  hundred  dollars. 
Any  thing  less  will  not,  can  not,  be  an  adequate 
support  for  a  minister  with  a  family.  Instead  of  the 
average  sum  for  the  support  of  the  ministry  at  this 
day,  being  between  three  and  four  hundred  dollars, 
it  ought  rather  to  be  between  six  and  eight  hundred 
dollars.  And  where  any  congregation  is  really  so 
poor  that  it  cannot  promptly  pay  its  pastor  five  or 
six  hundred  dollars,  this  amount  ought  to  be  secured 
to  him  by  the  Church  at  large,  of  which  he  is  a 
minister,  and  of  which  that  congregation  is  but  an 
integral  part.     And  the  Church  can  do  this  without 


166  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    m'gINNES. 

any  pecuniary  sacrifice,  and  that,  too,  without  dimi- 
nishing in  the  least  her  contributions  to  other  objects 
of  benevolence.  God  has  bestowed  upon  her  wealth 
abundant  for  both.  All  that  is  wanted  is  an  increase 
of  light,  and  of  the  Spirit  of  her  divine  Redeemer. 

Our  Saviour  recognised  the  same  principle  for 
which  w^e  are  contending  when  he  sent  his  -disciples 
forth  to  preach  the  gospel.  They  were  not  to  secure 
their  living  by  begging  or  by  engaging  in  some  secu- 
lar employment,  but  they  were  to  receive  it  as  a  just 
compensation  for  their  labors  ;  "for,"  sa3^s  he,  ''the 
laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire."  And  Paul's  argu- 
ment to  the  Corinthian  Christians,  setting  forth  the 
rights  of  Christian  ministers,  is  plain  and  in  point 
here:  "Who  goeth  a  warfare  any  time  at  his  own 
charges  ?  Who  planteth  a  vineyard,  and  eateth  not 
of  the  fruit  thereof?  or  who  feedeth  a  flock,  and  eateth 
not  of  the  milk  of  the  flock  ?  If  we  have  sown  unto 
you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if  we  shall  reap 
your  carnal  things  ?  do  ye  not  know  that  they  which 
minister  about  holy  things,  live  of  the  things  of  the 
temple,  and  they  which  wait  at  the  altar,  are  par- 
takers with  the  altar  ?  Even  so  hath  the  Lord  or- 
dained that  they  which  preach  the  gospel  should 
live  of  the  gospel."* 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  same  subject  was  discussed 
in  both  the  Synods  of  Philadelphia,  and  New  Jersey,  at  their 
late  sittings ;  as,  also,  able  articles  presented  in  both  the  Presby- 
terian, and  the  Presbyterian  Banner,  of  October  29th,  1853;  and 
it  is  gratifying  to  see  that  similar  views  to  those  above  have  been 
expressed.    Says  the  writer  in  the  Banner,  "  If  God  has  ordained 


SHORT    LIVES    OFTEN    VERY    USEFUL.       167 

V.  Short  Lives  are  oftex  eminently  Useful 
Lives. — Some  persons  from  their  very  constitution 
cannot  live  long,  and  especially  amidst  undue  care 
and  toil.  Their  physical  and  easily-excited  organi- 
zation soon  wears  out.  But  such  persons  are  all  life 
while  they  do  live  ;  and  they  often  accomplish  a  great 
deal,  whether  for  good  or  evil,  while  they  do  last,  far 
more  than  many  who  live  much  longer.  "  Chatterton 
wrote  all  his  beautiful  things,  exhausted  all  hopes  of 
life,  and  saw  nothing  better  than  death  at  the  age  of 
eighteen.  Burns  and  Byron  died  in  their  thirty- 
seventh  year,  when,  perhaps,  the  strength  of  their 
genius  was  over.  Raphael,  after  filling  the  world 
with  divine  beauty,  perished  also  at  thirty-seven. 
Mozart  earlier.  These  might  have  produced  still 
greater  works,  but  Nature's  work  was  done." 

In  the  ministry,  too,  there  are  those  who  are 
dropped  among  us,  as  it  were,  from  heaven,  for  a 
little  season,  like  Martyn,  Brainerd,  M'Cheyne, 
Hewitson,  Summerfield,  Lowrie,  and  others,  to  show 
us  what  can  be  done  for  God  and  the  well-beino-  of 
precious  souls  in  a  short  time ;  to  show  us  what  it  is 

that  they  -who  preach  the  gospel  shall  live  of  it,  then  it  follows 
as  a  general  law  upon  the  subject,  that  only  they  ivho  live  of  the 
gospel,  only  they  who  receive  a  competent  support,  can  continue 
to  preach.  The  final  result  of  a  neglect  to  support  ministers, 
must  be  an  entire  destitution  of  this  class  of  men.  A  dearth  of 
candidates  must  therefore  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest 
calamities  which  can  befall  our  unhappy  world,  and  one  of  the 
most  unmistakeable  evidences  that  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church 
is  frowning  upon  his  people  for  their  worldliness. 


168  LIFE    OF    REV.    J.    Y.    M  '  G  I  N  N  E  S. 

to  work  with  all  our  might  while  the  day  lasts,  to 
put  to  shame  all  drones  in  the  ministry,  and  to  stir 
up  all  to  more  zealous  and  devoted  effort.  Such,  we 
believe,  was  the  subject  of  the  preceding  sketch. 
Mr.  M'Ginnes  was  no  ordinary  man.  His  life  was 
brief,  but  in  it  he  accomplished  much.  He  was  a 
living  exhibition  of  not  only  what  a. zealous,  liberal, 
and  devoted  Christian  ought  to  be,  but  also  what  a 
faithful  and  earnest  minister  of  the  gospel  should  be. 
He  seemed  to  be  "  always  thinking,  always  reading, 
always  writing,  always  preaching,  always  acting." 
He  lived  in  earnest.  With  his  unceasing  activity, 
his  life  was  one  of  earnestness — of  indomitable  energy. 
This  was,  as  already  intimated,  his  peculiar  charac- 
teristic, and  what,  perhaps,  more  than  anything  else, 
goaded  on  by  a  constant  pressure  of  anxiety  and 
responsibility,  wasted  away  his  feeble  frame.  In 
reference  to  the  great  object  ever  before  his  eye — the 
honour  of  his  Divine  Master,  by  the  growth  of  piety 
in  his  own  soul,  and  by  the  intellectual  and  moral 
well-being  of  others, — his  purpose  was  fixed.  He 
could  well  adopt  the  language  of  Paul,  *'  This  one 
thing  I  do."  Such  holy  energy  produced  an  enter- 
prising, elevated,  and  sanctified  spirit,  but  it  ex- 
hausted his  vitality.     It  drank  up  his  life-blood. 

In  his  case,  however,  as  in  that  of  many  others, 
God  designed  that  a  short  life  should  be  an  eminently 
useful  life.  He  was  early  called  from  the  field  of 
his  labors,  but  he  was  one  of  those  who  could  say, 
"  I   have  fought   a   good  fight,  I  have  finished   my 


christian's  death  glorifies  god.    169 

course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is 
hiid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that 
day."  And  of  him  it  may  w^ell  be  written,  "  Blessed 
are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord,  from  henceforth ; 
yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their 
labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

VI.  And  Lastly,  the  Christian  glorifies  God 

IN  HIS  De'aTH  as  well  AS  IN  HIS  LiFE. — "  As  thy 
days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be,"  is  the  divine  promise. 
God  never  forsakes  his  chosen  people.  "  When  thou 
passest  through  the  waters,"  he  says,  "  I  will  be  with 
thee  ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow 
thee ;  when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou  shalt 
not  be  burned,  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  upon 
thee."  He  aff"ords  grace  just  as  it  is  needed,  so  that 
when  the  good  man  meets  his  fate,  it  is — 

'*  Quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven." 

Hence,  it  has  been  said  that  there  is  "  dying  grace," 
as  well  as  grace  for  living.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
saint,  even  though  frail  and  emaciated,  can  triumph 
over  death,  exclaiming,  "  Oh,  death,  where  is  thy 
sting?  Oh,  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?"  "Yea, 
though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou  art  with  me  ;  thy 
rod  and  thy  staff"  they  comfort  me."  "  To  die  is 
gain."  This  was  the  spirit  and  language  of  our 
departed  brother  in  his  dying  hour.     In  such  a  state 

15 


170  LIFE    OF    EEV.    J.    Y.    m'GINNES. 

of  mind  he  could  well  say  to  those  around  him, 
"  Come  and  see  how  a  Christian  can  die."  "  I  want 
you,  my  friends,  to  know  that  I  die  leaning  on  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  alone."  "  Another  pang, 
and  then  away  beyond  the  stars."  Thus  was  his 
fervent  prayer,  often  repeated,  answered,  that  his 
"sun  might  not  go  down  under  a  cloud,"  and  that 
he  might  "  glorify  God  in  his  death." 

But  the  influence  of  that  death  was  nol  confined 
to  those  who  witnessed  it.  The  death  of  Brother 
M'Ginnes  is  as  memorable  as  any  event  in  his  life, 
and  has  affected  many  hearts.  A  Sabbath  or  two 
later  than  this,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  to  be  admi- 
nistered at  Williamsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr. 
M'Ginnes  was  expected  as  an  assistant.  But  on 
that  Sabbath  he  was,  doubtless,  worshipping  the 
Saviour  "face  to  face,"  and  drinking  the  wine 
"  new"  with  him  in  his  heavenly  kingdom.  On  the 
very  next  Wednesday  evening  following  his  decease, 
Brother  Gibson  was  under  the  painful  necessity  of 
announcing  their  loss  to  his  disappointed  congrega- 
tion. He  writes  thus,  "Brother  M'Ginnes  was  under 
engagement  to  aid  me  at  our  next  communion  season. 
It  was  at  hand,  and  I  remember,  at  our  usual  Wed- 
nesday evening  lecture  next  following  his  decease, 
announcing  the  melancholy  intelligence  which  I  had 
just  received,  in  connexion  with  the  expectation  we 
had  entertained,  of  enjoying  his  assistance  at  our  ap- 
proaching communion  services.  It  was  a  great  shock 
to  the  congregation  as  well  as  to  myself,  and,  indeed, 


christian's  death   glorifies   god.    171 

unfitted  us  all  for  the  regular  course  of  lecture  that  I 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  pursuing.  Brother  M'Ginnes 
was  very  popular  in  our  congregation,  as,  indeed,  he 
was  in  all  the  congregations,  and  the  disappointment 
was  great,  and  the  grief  sincere,  that  his  eloquent 
tongue  was  silenced  for  ever  in  the  church  on  earth." 
All  his  brethren,  and  their  flocks,  were  taken  by 
surprise  at  the  news  of  his  death,  hearing  suddenly 
of  it,  without  having  known  anything  of  his  previous 
sickness.  They  were  all  filled  with  sorrow.  They 
felt  that  a  great  man  in  Israel, — one  loved,  respected, 
and  eminently  useful,  in  the  very  prime  of  life, — had 
fallen.  They  felt,  too,  that,  humanly  speaking,  he 
could  illy  be  spared,  that  his  post  of  efiiciency  and 
usefulness  could  not  well  be  filled.  But  he  who 
"holdeth  the  stars  in  his  right  hand,"  knoweth  what 
is  best  for  his  Zion.  He  lifteth  up  one,  and  putteth 
down  another ;  he  saith  to  this  man  live,  and  to  this 
one  die.  Yet,  in  every  event,  he  designs  that  his 
purposes  of  wisdom  and  mercy  shall  be  accomplished. 
He  surely  doeth  all  things  well.  "  Be  still  and 
know,"  says  he,  "  that  I  am  God.  I  will  be  exalted 
among  the  heathen.  I  will  be  exalted  in  the  earth." 
What  the  Rev.  John  Lloyd,  a  most  excellent  mis- 
sionary to  the  Chinese, — himself  now  in  glory  also, — 
said  of  his  martyred  brother,  the  Rev.  Walter  M. 
Lowrie,  we  may  use  as  appropriate  to  Brother  M'Gin- 
nes :  "We  know  that  God  had  endowed  him  with 
a  noble  intellect,  had  given  him  a  sound  judgment, 
had  bestowed  upon  him  much  grace,  and  had  emi- 


172  LIFE    OF    KEV.    J.    Y.    M'gINNES. 

nently  fitted  him  for  a  high  station  in  the  great  har- 
vest field.  We  knew  all  this,  and  felt  that  we  could 
not  spare  him.  But  God's  thoughts  and  ways  are  not 
as  ours.  He  has  taught  us  that  he  can  do  without 
us,  even  the  best  of  us.  He  has  no  need  of  our  poor 
assistance.  "When  he  sees  fit,  he  calls  us  to  himself. 
He  has  called  our  brother  thus.  We  idolized  him. 
God  has  rebuked  us.  But  he  has  taken  him  to  him- 
self. He  is  happy  beyond  conception.  This  is  our 
consolation." 

Mr.  Lowrie's  death, — dying  when  he  did  and  as  he 
did, — has,  we  believe,  by  the  sympathy,  interest,  and 
effort  it  has  excited  in  behalf  of  the  missionary  cause, 
advanced  rather  than  retarded  it.  And,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  may  do  more  for  its  greater  enlarge- 
ment than  if  his  life  had  been  spared  much  longer. 

So  with  our  Brother  M'Ginnes.  Useful  as  he  was 
in  life,  much  as  he  had  done  to  honor  his  Master,  we 
think  we  venture  not  too  much,  when  we  say,  that  his 
death  has  done  more  for  the  glory  of  God,  than  any 
act  of  his  life  ;  if  not  more  than  his  future  life  would 
have  done  had  it  been  prolonged.  Dying  when  he 
did — with  such  a  character,  so  ripe,  so  tender,  so  be- 
loved ;  when  so  much  honor  was  ready  to  be  given 
him  on  every  side ;  and  dying  as  he  did — at  his  own 
home,  after  such  emolument  and  success,  unexpect- 
edly, in  the  midst  of  his  beloved  pupils  and  charge, 
with  such  a  clear  mind,  and  with  such  holy  triumphs 
of  faith  in  Jesus — we  think  we  may  safely  say,  that 
there  are  few  deathbeds  like  his  ;  so  deeply  impres- 


christian's  death   glorifies   god.   173 

sive  ;  so  superior  in  rapt  thought  and  feeling ;  and  so 
rich  in  all  the  elements  which  constitute  a  Christian's 
triumph  over  the  last  enemy.  It  has  made  an  im- 
pression not  only  upon  my  own  mind,  but  upon  a 
multitude  of  others,  that  will  not  be  effaced  by  time. 
Many  hearts  will  be  enkindled  at  his  funeral  pile, 
as  they  read  these  pages,  or  gaze  upon  the  tomb 
where  his  dust  reposes.  Many  will  glow  with  in- 
creased love  to  Jesus  and  dying  souls,  as  they  con- 
template not  only  his  devoted  life,  but  also  his  rap- 
turous death  ;  while  the  prayer  will  spontaneously  be 
breathed  from  each  heart,  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of 
the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his." 


15* 


SERMONS 


REV.   JAMES  Y.    M'GINNES. 


SERMON  T. 


LIFE   AND    IMMORTALITY. 


"  Jesus  Christ  hath  abolished  death,  and  hath  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel." — 2  Tim.  i.  10. 

"Know  thyself,"  was  the  maxim  of  a  heathen 
philosopher,  and  there  can  be  none  of  greater  impor- 
tance, for  without  intimate  self-acquaintance  all 
other  knowledge  will  be  of  but  little  use.  And  yet 
how  few  engage  in  this  appropriate  study  of  mankind. 

Men  range  the  whole  field  of  thought  and  science. 
They  will  learn  the  nature  and  the  habits  of  the  in- 
ferior creatures  ;  they  will  develope  the  principles  of 
inanimate  nature  ;  and  yet  will  overlook  the  wonder- 
ful mechanism  of  their  own  matchless  frames,  and 
live  and  die  in  profound  ignorance  of  those  rational 


176  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

and  intelligent  minds  by  which  they  are  distinguished 
from  the  brutes  that  perish.  Men  study  everything, 
they  know  everything,  better  than  themselves. 
Though  no  subject  can  be  more  interesting,  or  more 
worthy  the  exercise  of  those  exalted  powers  with 
which  they  are  endowed,  there  is  none,  perhaps,  by 
the  great  mass  of  mankind  so  little  understood. 

"  The  proper  study  of  mankind,"  says  a  celebrated 
writer,  "  is  man."  Nothing  in  the  world  of  nature 
displays  so  many  proofs  of  creative  wisdom  and  good- 
ness— nothing  is  better  calculated  to  exhibit  the  de- 
clarative glory  of  his  Omnipotent  Author.  Man  is 
a  compound  being,  formed  of  body  and  soul.  And 
though  originally  formed  of  dust,  yet  is  he  the  per- 
fection of  animal  nature,  combining  all  that  is  valu- 
able and  beautiful  in  our  lower  creation,  and,  in  the 
expressive  language  of  Scripture,  is  "  fearfully  and 
wonderfully  made."  With  form  erect,  with  head  ex- 
alted, with  countenance  divine,  he  came  forth  from 
his  Maker's  hands,  and  stood  the  lord  of  this  lower 
creation.  We  cannot  enlarge  on  the  anatomical 
wonders  of  the  human  frame,  nor  would  it  accord 
with  our  present  purpose ;  but  if  you  would  have  en- 
larged views  of  the  divine  goodness,  if  you  would  be 
lost  in  astonishment  at  the  displays  of  the  divine 
power  and  wisdom,  study  the  human  form  with  its 
varieties  of  instruments  and  functions,  all  suited  to 
the  great  end,  and  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  their 
first  formation.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  in  the  human 
system  there  are  two  hundred  and  forty-five  bones, 


LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY.  17T 

and  four  hundred  and  forty-six  muscles — the  former 
acting  as  so  many  timbers  in  the  framework  of  the 
tabernacle,  the  latter  as  so  many  instruments  of  its 
motion.  There  are  ten  thousand  nerves,  the  seats  of 
sensation  ;  as  many  veins  and  arteries,  acting  as  so 
many  channels  to  carry  the  red  current  of  life  to  and 
from  its  great  fountain,  the  heart.  There  are  one 
hundred  thousand  glands,  secreting  the  necessary 
juices  for  the  nourishment  of  the  system  ;  and  over 
the  surface  of  the  skin  not  less  than  two  hundred 
millions  of  pores,  acting  as  so  many  avenues  of  sick- 
ness or  health,  of  life  or  death.  How  amazing  too 
are  the  functions  of  the  heart.  That  organ  contracts 
and  beats  four  thousand  times  every  hour,  and,  dur- 
ing that  time,  there  passes  through  it  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  of  blood.  And  this  pulsation  is 
taking  place,  sleeping  or  w^aking,  from  the  first  faint 
cry  of  infancy  to  the  last  expiring  sigh  of  extreme 
old  age.  Who  can  examine  this  complex,  marvellous 
machine,  and  not  see  in  it  the  wonderful  works  of 
God  ?  How  feeble,  and  yet  how  strong.  How  deli- 
cate, and  yet  how  capable  of  endurance.  How  easily 
deranged,  and  yet  how  active  for  years. 

"Strange  that  a  harp  of  thousand  strings 
Should  keep  in  tune  so  long." 

But  man  is  a  rational,  intelligent  being,  and  has  a 
soul  as  well  as  a  body.  Whilst  he  possesses  instincts 
and  feelings  in  common  with  the  inferior  animals,  he 
is  endowed  with  a  reason  which  far  surpasses  every 


178  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

instinct  of  the  brute,  and  avails  for  every  contin- 
gency. In  instinct  there  is  no  improvement  or  ad- 
vancement. The  mere  animal  races  just  act  as  they 
have  done  for  generations.  They  have  no  inventive 
power;  they  make  no  new  discoveries.  But  the 
mind  and  reason  of  man  are  ever  progressing,  and 
no  limits  can  be  set  to  the  sphere  of  their  operations. 
He  is  ever  ranging  the  world  in  search  of  new  dis- 
coveries, or  is  taxing  his  ingenuity  to  multiply  use- 
ful or  curious  inventions.  With  the  telescope  he  can 
sweep  the  starry  heai^ens,  and  bring  within  the  range 
of  his  vision  hitherto  unknown  creations  of  omnipo- 
tence. Availing  himself  of  the  magnifying  powers 
of  the  microscope,  he  can  discover  a  world  of  anima- 
ted nature  upon  a  single  leaf  of  the  forest,  and  in  a 
drop  of  water  with  its  numerous  inhabitants  behold 
an  ocean  in  miniature. 

With  the  mariner's  compass  in  his  hand  he  can 
guide  his  way  across  perilous  oceans,  and  hold  inter- 
course with  the  inhabitants  of  the  most  distant  climes. 
'By  a  practical  use  of  his  philosophy,  he  can  make 
the  elements  of  nature  do  his  bidding  and  admi- 
nister to  his  comfort,  even  plucking  the  lightning 
from  the  thundercloud  and  making  it  the  messenger 
of  his  thoughts,  and  the  servant  of  his  will.  Such  is 
the  high  pre-eminence  on  which  he  stands,  such  the 
mighty  gulf  that  separates  him  from  the  brutal  na- 
tures that  surround  him,  and  that  act  merely  from 
the  impulses  of  an  innate  and  immutable  instinct. 
Yet,  after  all,  man  is  but  a  mortal.     This  light  of  hea- 


LIFE    AND     IMMORTALITY.  179 

ven  which  flashes  forth  in  the  scintillations  of  his 
genius,  so  astonishing  to  himself  and  others,  is  but 
like  the  course  of  the  meteor  across  the  midnight 
sky;  or  like  the  dazzling  brilliancy  of  a  moment  fol- 
lowed by  the  settled  gloom  of  the  grave.  The  active 
powers  sink  into  indolence ;  the  teeming  brain  ceases 
to  treasure  up  its  world  of  thought ;  and  the  man, 
who  but  yesterday  may  have  been  with  us,  the  busy, 
bustling  denizen  of  earth,  has  fallen  the  victim  of  a  des- 
tiny which  none  may  escape,  and  has  left  the  world  of 
light  and  life  for  the  land  of  silence  and  forgetfulness. 
The  grave  is  "  the  house  appointed  for  all  living." 
A  decree  has  gone  forth  from  the  high  court  of  hea- 
ven, more  immutable  than  the  laws  of  the  Modes  and 
Persians,  universal  in  its  application,  inevitable  in 
its  execution  :  "  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt 
thou  return."  Ever  since  the  curse  was  pronounced 
upon  the  guilty  pair  in  Eden,  has  death  been  in  our 
world.  Generation  after  generation  has  fallen  be- 
neath his  unerring  dart,  until  our  earth  has  become 
one  vast  charnel-house ;  and  the  very  dust  beneath 
our  feet  was  once  warmed  with  life  that  has  fled. 
And  is  this  havoc  of  death  to  continue  for  ever  ?  Are 
the  mighty  ruins  of  these  once  beautiful  bodies 
never  to  be  repaired  and  again  tenanted  by  their 
active  and  heaven-born  inhabiters  ?  Does  annihi- 
lation follow  death  ?  Is  this  constant  flow  of  thought 
and  activity  to  cease  for  ever  in  its  course,  and  this 
light  of  reason,  that  assimilates  our  nature  to  the 
great  God,  to  be  for  ever  blotted  out  in  darkness  ? 


180  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

Was  the  earth  created  that  it  might  be  one  eternal 
graveyard  for  the  succession  of  mortals  that  teem 
upon  its  surface  ?  Is  there  no  other  state,  no  other 
home,  no  other  destiny  ?  Are  those  hopes  of  immor- 
tality that  so  often  wing  their  heavenward  flight,  and 
long  to  fold  their  weary  wings  in  some  better  land, 
but  the  mockery  of  an  unreal  vision ;  the  impulsive 
grasp  of  unsatisfied  souls  at  treasuring  that  which 
can  never  be  theirs  ?  Then  may  we  ask  with  the 
Psalmist,  "  Lord,  wherefore  hast  thou  made  all  men 
in  vain  ?"  What  is  our  being  worth,  if  it  must  be 
resigned  so  soon  ?  Why  the  creation  of  these  vast 
powers,  if  they  are  so  soon  to  enter  the  land  of  for- 
getfulness,  and  to  shrink  back  by  the  same  Almighty 
word,  that  called  them  forth,  into  their  original  no- 
thingness ?  Do  these  questions  force  themselves  upon 
you  ?  And  are  you  panting,  with  all  the  eagerness 
of  one  who  seeks  a  higher  destiny  than  earth  can 
give  him,  to  lift  the  veil  that  separates  the  visible 
from  the  invisible,  and  to  know  what  hope  of  life 
there  is  for  you,  beyond  the  last  convulsive  throb  of 
dissolving  nature,  and  the  dreamless  slumbers  of  the 
tomb  ?  Let  me  lift  up  that  veil.  Let  me  open 
those  gloomy  portals  of  the  grave  that  lie  before  you, 
and  see  if  impenetrable  darkness  stops  your  eager 
gaze.  Or,  catch  you  not  that  ray  of  light  that  comes 
streaming  along  through  its  dim  caverns  from  the  far- 
off  regions  that  lie  beyond  ?  Look  again  at  that 
massive  pillar  that  stands  far  down  in  the' dim  valley. 
The  rays  of  that  heavenly  light  that  just  now  met 


LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY.  181 

your  gladdened  vision  are  playing  upon  it,  and  re- 
vealing that  glorious  inscription,  chiselled  by  no  mor- 
tal hand,  "  Life  and  immortality  have  been  brought 
to  light." 

But  away  with  all  these  figures  of  an  earth-born 
fancy.  That  light  is  the  Sun  of  righteousness  ;  that 
pillar  is  the  gospel;  and  that  "life  and  immortality" 
is  the  destiny  of  the  panting  spirits  within  you. 

This  is  a  discovery  which  baffled  the  wisdom  of  the 
wise,  and  the  understanding  of  the  ancients.  The 
notions  of  their  philosophers  concerning  even  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  were  vague  and  contradictory. 
And  many,  to  rid  themselves  of  the  difficulties  that 
kept  pace  with  their  researches,  reasoned  themselves 
into  atheism,  and  made  the  world  the  sport  of  chance, 
and  the  grave  the  final  home  of  both  body  and  soul. 
It  is  a  discovery  that  science  has  never  revealed. 
Science,  that  has  watched  the  movements,  and  learned 
the  nature  of  the  tiny  insect  that  finds  a  universe  in 
a  raindrop,  that  fixes  the  stars  in  their  orbits,  and 
calculates  with  as  much  certainty,  as  we  do  the  hour 
of  to-morrow's  rising  sun,  their  phases  and  their 
distances — science  is  here  at  fault,  and  candidly 
acknowledges  that  these  are  secrets  into  which  it  has 
never  penetrated,  and  mysteries  it  has  never  un- 
ravelled. 

No,  the  light  that  flings  its  heavenly  halo  over  the 
grave,  and  illumes  our  pathway  to  the  skies,  is  not 
the  light  of  science  but  of  religion.  Not  the  dim 
tapers  by  which  the  philosophers  of  the  world  grope 

16 


182  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

their  way  through  it,  but  that  glorious  light  of  hea- 
ven, which  reveals  the  way  of  life  so  clearly  that 
"  the  wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err 
therein." 

That  resurrection  of  the  body,  which  prepares  it 
for  immortality,  is  not  discoverable  from  the  light  or 
the  laws  of  nature  ;  and  is  believed  only  as  matter  of 
revelation.  The  heathen  sages  of  antiquity  never 
deemed  it  possible,  much  less  supposed  it  certain. 

The  philosophers  of  Athens  ridiculed  the  Apostle 
Paul,  when,  in  his  memorable  sermon  before  them, 
upon  Mars  Hill,  he  broached  this,  to  them,  unheard 
of  and  absurd  doctrine.  They  regarded  it  as  some 
idle  superstition  of  the  Jews,  and  refused  to  hear  him 
even  for  a  moment,  attempt  to  explain  or  to  defend 
it.  When  their  bodies  were  committed  to  the  earth 
to  moulder  and  to  mingle  with  their  original  elements, 
they  looked  upon  it  as  their  final  destiny,  and  never 
dreamed  that  these  frail,  dying  tabernacles  could  be 
reared  anew  in  the  bloom  and  vigor  of  immortal 
youth  and  beauty.  But  what  a  light  does  Christianity 
shed  over  the  gloom  of  the  grave.  Hear  what  the 
voice  from  heaven  proclaims  for  them  that  sleep  in 
the  dust  of  the  earth :  "  The  hour  is  coming,  in  the 
which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  the  voice 
of  the  Son  of  God,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that 
have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and 
they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation."  John  v.  28,  29.  "  These  bodies  may  be 
sown  in  corruption,  but  they  shall  be  raised  in  incor- 


LIFE    AND     IMMORTALITY.  183 

ruption  :  they  may  be  sown  in  dishonor,  but  they  shall 
be  raised  in  glory  ;  they  may  be  sown  in  weakness, 
but  they  shall  be  raised  in  power ;  they  may  be  sown 
a  natural  body,  but  they  shall  be  raised  a  spiritual 
body."  1  Cor.  xv.  42-44. 

The  immortality  of  the  soul  is  not  so  difficult  to  be 
believed,  and  hence  the  wisest  and  the  most  intelligent 
of  the  heathen  admitted  its  probability,  and  even  en- 
deavored to  substantiate  its  certainty  by  arguments, 
more  or  less  plausible  and  sound.  But  what  were 
their  reasonings  without  revelation?  What  were  all 
their  arguments,  but  merely  presumptuous  conclu- 
sions that  what  they  greatly  desired  to  be  true,  was 
really  so  ?  The  Socrateses  and  Platos  of  Greece, 
after  all  their  searches,  were  more  perplexed  on  this 
point  than  the  simplest,  most  unlettered  Christian  in 
this  favored  land  of  evangelical  light.  "Death," 
says  Socrates,  who  was  confessedly  the  wisest  and 
the  most  moral  of  the  heathen,  "  either  reduces  us  to 
nothing,  or,  as  some  say,  it  conveys  us  from  this 
world  into  some  other  region."  And  this  was  said 
by  him  but  a  few  hours  before  he  met  that  death 
from  the  unrighteous  sentence  of  his  judges. 

Though  on  the  margin  of  the  shoreless  ocean,  dark 
mists  hung  over  it  which  even  his  keen  eye  could  not 
penetrate  ;  and  he  makes  the  plunge  with  all  the  uncer- 
tainty of  a  gloomy  peradventure.  How  much  wiser  in 
that  which  so  intimately  concerns  us  is  the  simplest  dis- 
ciple of  the  Saviour,  than  the  learned  and  renowned 
Socrates !  And  how  happy  would  he  have  been,  had 
he  enjoyed  one  glimmering  of  that  light  against  which 


184  LIFE    AND    IMMOETALITY. 

SO  many  multitudes  around  us  shut  their  eyes  and 
aifect  to  despise  !  • 

As  immortality  is  a  common  prerogative;  as  it  is 
a  doctrine  in  which  men  of  all  ranks  and  classes  are 
concerned,  and  elevates  the  simple  ploughman  or 
mechanic  to  share  in  the  glorious  destiny  of  a  Bacon 
and  a  Newton,  a  common  revelation  was  necessary ; 
one  that  would  level  itself  to  every  mind,  and  teach 
every  child  of  Adam  that  there  had  been  enkindled 
within  him  a  spark  that  should  burn  with  quenchless 
ardor,  when  the  stars  of  heaven  should  be  blotted  out, 
and  the  sun  himself  set  in  everlasting  eclipse.  And 
this  has  the  gospel  done.  It  has  come  to  make  up 
for  every  defect  of  human  reason,  and  to  add  the 
testimony  of  Him  ''that  cannot  lie"  to  all  those 
pantings  after  endless  life  that  make  the  soul 
"  shrink  back  upon  itself,  and  startle  at  destruc- 
tion." 

But  nature,  and  reason,  and  revelation,  do  not 
stand  in  contradiction.  The  Creator  of  the  one  is 
the  Author  of  the  other,  and  all  his  manifestations 
must  necessarily  harmonize  ;  and  though  our  reason- 
ings may  not  carry  us  as  far  as  revelation  in  this 
matter,  yet  they  tend  the  same  direction ;  they  are 
helping  to  work  out  the  same  great  results. 

We  argue  the  immortality  of  the  soul  from  its  very 
nature.  It  is  immaterial,  spiritual,  and  unlike  mere 
matter  which  acts  only  as  it  is  acted  upon ;  it  is 
essentially  active,  thinks  and  wills  from  its  own  in- 
herent impulses  and  emotions.     It  is  this  that  allies 


LIFE     AND    IMMORTALITY.  185 

man  to  angels,  and  makes  him  emphatically  the 
offspring  of  the  Godhead.  If  the  body  be  of  "  the 
earth,  earthy,"  the  mind  is  an  immediate  emanation 
from  the  Deity,  and  should  therefore  partake  of  the 
nature  of  Him  who  only  hath  life  and  immortality. 
These  are  the  excellency  of  its  attributes  as  distinct 
from  those  of  the  brute  that  perishes.  They  spurn 
the  dust ;  they  leap  beyond  the  limited  range  of 
earth  and  time  ;  and,  in  those  sublime  contempla- 
tions that  carry  us  upward  and  onward  through  track- 
less space,  to  the  throne  of  God,  they  love  to  climb 
their  native  skies,  and  to  lose  themselves  in  the  vast 
fountain  of  "life  and  immortality"  from  whence  they 
sprung.  And  is  not  this  heavenward  tendency  of 
the  soul,  when  left  untrammelled  by  earth,  but  the 
development  of  that  natural  instinct  for  immortality 
which  the  Creator  has  implanted  in  its  possessor  ? 

Again,  we  argue  the  soul's  immortality  from  its 
capacity  for  improvement  and  enjoyment.  You  can 
set  no  limits  to  the  improvement  of  the  humUn  mind. 
The  vessel  never  bursts  from  its  contents.  Its  capa- 
cities enlarge  as  they  fill  up.  Mental  stores  may  be 
amassed,  and  knowledge  acquired  almost  beyond  limi- 
tation. Think  of  a  Newton  and  a  Shakspeare  in 
their  infancy  with  minds  crude  and  uncultivated,  and 
then  think  of  the  developments  of  those  mighty 
minds  in  maturer  years.  And  the  capacity  for  en- 
joyment keeps  pace  with  that  of  improvement.  The 
desires  of  the  soul  are  endless  and  progressive,  and 
every  fresh  draft  from  the  spring  of  pure  and  ra- 

16* 


186  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

tional  pleasure  only  excites  greater  longings,  and  in- 
duces a  more  quenchless  thirst.  Wherefore  these 
lofty  po'svers  ?  Wherefore  these  ever-growing  desires 
after  pure  and  unalloyed  enjoyment,  if  the  soul's 
life  is  but  as  a  bubble  cast  up  upon  the  ocean  of 
eternity  to  be  the  sport  of  a  momentary  and  capricious 
chance,  and  then  to  sink  for  ever  beneath  the  mass  ? 

We  cannot,  we  dare  not,  say  that  the  wise  and 
beneficent  Creator  w^ould  mock  and  illude  his  rational 
and  intelligent  creatures  so;  besides,  man  abhors 
the  idea  of  extinction.  A  miserable  future  is  pre- 
ferable to  annihilation.  Of  that  future  he  is  em- 
phatically the  creature.  He  feels  within  him  that 
he  is  made  for  eternity.  However  often  his  wishes 
and  hopes  may  be  gratified,  they  never  reach  their 
climax.  Onward — onward — is  the  watchword  of  his 
soul.  The  more  he  partakes,  the  more  he  craves. 
He  wishes  to  enjoy  continually,  and  nothing  short  of 
an  endless  existence  seems  sufficient  to  quench  his 
thirst  with  those  ever-refreshing  draughts  from  the 
fountain  of  everlasting  life. 

Again,  we  argue  it  from  the  essential  principles  of 
justice  and  equity.  God  is  holy  and  just  in  all  his 
ways.  He  must  necessarily  hate  and  punish  sin, 
and  delight  in  and  reward  holiness.  But  behold 
mankind  only  in  the  mirror  of  this  life,  and  you  be- 
hold vice  transparent,  prosperous,  gay,  arrayed  in 
wealth  and  power,  and  faring  sumptuously  every 
day.  You  behold  Christian  virtue  poor,  scorned, 
persecuted,  dying  by  the  hand  of  violence  and 
wickedness.     And  does  God — the   Omniscient— see 


LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY.  187 

all  this  ?  Is  he  holj^  and  just,  and  shall  he  permit 
virtue  always  to  be  prostrated,  and  vice  to  be  ex- 
alted ?  No,  verily.  This  is  but  the  state  of  proba- 
tion. The  world  of  retribution  is  to  come.  Both 
characters  are  to  be  transferred  to  other  spheres, 
where  each  are  to  be  judged  according  to  their  works, 
and  to  receive  their  appropriate  reward. 

But  after  all,  these  are  but  presumptive  arguments. 
They  may  create  rational  expectation,  but  they  cannot 
lift  up  the  veil  from  the  unseen,  and  permit  us  to  gaze 
upon  it  with  that  certainty  of  vision  which  removes 
all  doubt.  It  is  revelation  alone  that  demonstrates 
the  important  subject.  It  is  revelation  alone  that 
solves  the  mighty  problem  of  man's  eternal  destiny, — 
that  unbars  the  gates  of  the  invisible  world,  and  that 
permits  the  light  of  a  happy  and  an  eternal  heaven 
to  come  streaming  through  its  portals  upon  the  land 
of  darkness  and  of  death. 

Blessed  revelation  !  How  many  anxious  questions 
does  it  answer  !  How  many  perplexing  doubts  does 
it  solve  !  How  many  glorious  hopes  does  it  awaken 
in  these  throbbing  hearts  !  What  a  heavenly  radiance 
does  it  throw  around  the  grave  !  There  lie  the  frail 
barks  of  human  existence,  tossed  and  shattered  by  the 
world's  tempests,  in  that  peaceful  haven,  renewing 
and  refitting,  under  the  hands  of  an  Almighty 
Architect,  for  a  new  and  a  more  successful  voyage 
over  the  shoreless  ocean  of  eternity. 

We  need  not  fear  to  commit  our  friends  to  the 
dust.   They  are  but  the  temporary  captives  of  a  tyrant 


188  LIFE     AND     IMMORTALITY. 

whose  power  is  broken.  Their  prison  doors  shall  one 
day  be  thrown  open  by  the  mighty  power  of  Him  who 
led  '^  captivity  captive,"  and  their  dark  abodes  shall 
be  illuminated  by  the  glorious  light  of  "life  and  im- 
mortality." Even  lue  ourselves  may  put  our  hand 
in  this  "  hole  of  the  asp,"  and  play  undaunted  around 
this  "  cockatrice's  den."  Even  we  may  feel  this 
viper  fastening  upon  our  mortal  parts,  and  diffusing 
its  stealthy  venom  through  our  decaying  frames. 
We  shall  one  day  shake  it  off,  and  fear  no  evil,  by  a 
joyful  resurrection. 

The  gospel  is  not  only  the  message  of  mercy, 
it  is  also  the  revelation  of  life.  It  is  the  history 
— the  wondrous  history  of  Him  who  wept  that  man 
might  smile,  who  died  that  man  might  never  die. 
His  mediation  is  the  channel  through  which  this 
life  is  conveyed — his  death,  the  last  crowning  act 
in  that  series  of  efforts  which  has  resulted  in  our 
victory  over  the  power  of  death,  and  in  our  de- 
liverance from  the  terrible  tyranny  of  the  grave. 
He  who  sits  enthroned  in  glory  and  diffuses  bliss  un- 
utterable through  all  the  shining  ranks  that  bow  be- 
fore him,  he  yielded  up  himself  into  the  hands  of 
this  dread  enemy,  and  went  down  himself  a  prisoner 
to  the  silent  shades. 

But  if  he  stooped,  it  was  to  conquer.  If  he  slept 
the  dreamless  sleep  of  the  grave,  it  was  to  arise  far 
more  mightily  than  did  Samson,  from  his  transient 
slumber,  to  break  down  the  gates,  and  to  demolish 
the  strongholds  of  these  dark  dominions.  If  he  him- 
self traversed  the  dark  and  dreary  way  through  the 


LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY.  189 

gloomy  valley,  it  was  to  light  it  up  for  his  humble 
followers  with  blessed  hopes  of  "  life  and  immorta- 
lity" beyond.  And  this,  0  fellow-mortals  !  this  is 
our  consolation  and  security.  Jesus  has  trod  the 
path,  and  smoothed  it  for  your  passage.  Jesus, 
sleeping  in  the  chambers  of  the  tomb,  has  brightened 
up  the  dismal  mansion,  and  left  an  inviting  odor  in 
its  beds  of  dust.  The  dying  Jesus — never  let  the 
comfortable  thought  escape  you — is  your  sure  pro- 
tection, your  unquestionable  passport  through  the 
territories  of  the  grave.  "  He  that  believeth  in  me," 
said  Christ  to  the  sorrowing  Martha,  "  though  he 
were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live." 

Go  down  to  the  dust  in  the  exercise  of  this  trium- 
phant faith,  and  you  shall  be  no  losers,  but  un- 
speakable gainers  by  your  dissolution.  Your  exit  is 
but  the  end  of  your  frailty,  and  entrance  into  per- 
fection. The  last  sigh  of  convulsive  nature  is  but 
the  prelude  to  endless  "life  and  immortality"  at  God's 
right  hand. 

And  is  all  this  true — the  truth  of  God  that  cannot 
lie  ?  Heaven  and  earth  may  pass  away,  but  not  one 
jot  or  tittle  of  all  that  he  has  determined  concerning 
man's  final  state  and  destiny,  shall  pass  away  until  all 
be  fulfilled.  And  is  this  spark  of  life  never  to  be 
quenched  ?  Is  this  existence,  begun  here  on  earth 
in  the  feebleness  of  infancy,  to  be  spun  out  through 
endless  duration,  and  to  run  a  line  parallel  with  that 
of  eternity  ?  What  intellect  can  grasp  the  mighty 
subject?     What  human  conception  can  conceive  the 


190  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

pain,  the  bliss,  the  hope,  the  despair,  that  may  be 
summed  up  in  such  an  infinite  duration  ? 

How  much  to  an  immortal  soul  does  that  awful 
word  eternity  include  !  Who  can  set  landmarks  to 
limit  the  dimensions,  or  find  plummets  to  fathom  the 
unsearchable  depths  of  that  which  overwhelms  our 
strongest,  boldest  thoughts,  and  leaves  our  imagina- 
tion to  run  wild  with  despair?  Arithmeticians  may 
conrpute  the  progressions  of  time,  and  figure  up  the 
centuries  that  roll  by  on  rapid  cycles  ;  astronomers 
can  calculate  the  number,  and  have  invented  instru- 
ments by  which  they  can  measure  the  size  and  dis- 
tance of  the  planets,  as  they  wheel  on  their  mighty 
orbits,  but  what  figures  can  state,  what  lines  can 
gauge,  the  length  and  breadth  of  eternity  ?  "  It  is 
as  high  as  heaven,  what  canst  thou  do  ? — deeper  than 
hell,  w^hat  canst  thou  know  ?  The  measure  thereof 
is  longer  than  the  earth,  and  broader  than  the  sea." 
Mysterious,  mighty  existence  !  a  sum  not  to  be  les- 
sened by  the  largest  deductions ;  an  extent  not  to 
be  contracted  by  all  possible  diminutions.  None  can 
truly  say  after  the  greatest  lapse  of  ages,  so  much  of 
eternity  is  gone  ;  for  when  millions  of  centuries  are 
elapsed,  it  is  but  just  beginning. 

And  here,  in  the  impressive  thoughts,  if  not  in  the 
glowing  language  of  the  eloquent  Davies,  let  us  pause 
and  take  a  calm  survey  of  this  majestic  prospect. 
What  an  inheritance  is  this  entailed  upon  a  child  of 
dust,  a  creature  of  yesterday.  This  body  must  soon 
moulder  into  dust,  but   the   soul  will   live   unhurt 


LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY.  191 

amidst  all  the  dissolving  struggles  and  convulsions 
of  the  tabernacle  which  it  now  inhabits.  Yea,  "  these 
heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise ;  these 
elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat ;  the  earth  and 
the  things  that  are  therein  shall  be  burnt  up,"  but 
the  soul  shall  live  secure  of  existence  amidst  this 
universal  desolation,  and  shall  rise  triumphant  above 
this  "wreck  of  matter  and  crush  of  worlds." 

Men  of  great  projects  and  sanguine  hopes  are  apt 
to  pause,  and  take  an  imaginary  survey  of  what  they 
will  do,  and  what  they  will  be,  in  the  course  of  thfiir 
lives.  But  how  often  are  their  projects  defeated  ! — 
how  often  are  their  plans  cut  short  in  their  execution 
by  the  ruthless  hand  of  Dekth.  But  here  Death 
himself  is  conquered ;  and  he  who  threatened  the 
extinction  of  our  being  is  himself  reduced  to  annihi- 
lation, and  life  runs  on  its  even  tenor,  uninterrupted 
by  a  single  dread  of  dissolution. 

And  how  much  does  all  this  enhance  the  value  of 
the  soul,  and  make  its  neglect  the  veriest  infatuation  ! 
Immortality  !  what  emphasis — what  grandeur  in  the 
sound  !  Give  immortality  to  any  being,  however  in- 
significant and  valueless  it  may  otherwise  appear, 
and  you  create  for  it  an  importance  that  leaves  con- 
ception far  behind  the  reality ;  while  the  highest 
angel,  if  he  were  but  the  creature  of  a  day,  or  even 
of  a  thousand  years,  would  be  but  as  a  fading  flower 
or  as  a  vanishing  vapor,  for  when  the  short  sum  of 
his  existence  was  past,  he  would  be  as  truly  nothing 
as  if  he  had  never  been.     What  matters  it  what  may 


192  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

be  his  lot — let  him  stand  or  fall,  let  him  be  happy  or 
miserable, — soon  dignity  or  degradation,  pleasure  or 
pain,  will  be  to  him  as  if  they  never  existed. 

But  an  immortal,  a  creature  who  shall  never — 
never  cease  to  be  ;  who  shall  grow  in  endless  pro- 
gression, and  expand  his  capacities,  for  pleasure  or 
pain,  through  an  endless  duration, — what  a  dignity 
is  thrown  around  him, — with  what  a  majesty  is  he 
invested  in  our  estimation  !  And  am  I  speaking  of 
myself,  and  of  you,  ray  hearers?  Is  it  the  little 
sp&rk  of  reason  within  us  that  I  refer  to  ?  We  can 
but  tremble  at  ourselves.  We  must  revere  our  own 
dignity.  Are  we,  indeed,  never  to  cease  thinking 
and  feeling  ?  Is  the  wave  of  this  immortal  life  within 
us  never  to  cease  its  restless  tide  ?  Is  there  no  sleep 
for  the  soul — no  dreamless  age  when  it  shall  forget 
the  past,  and  cease  to  anticipate  the  future  ?  No 
grave  in  which  it  may  hide  in  peaceful  repose,  until 
the  calamities  that  are  gathering  thick  upon  the 
universe  are  wholly  overpast?  No;  for  it  is  action 
— motion,  endless  and  progressive.  It  is  a  sea  of 
thought,  that  is  either  to  be  swept  by  the  gentle 
gales  of  paradise  above,  or  lashed  into  fury  by  the 
storms  of  divine  vengeance  below. 

What  is  it  to  us,  then,  who  are  formed  for  an 
endless  existence,  what  we  enjoy  or  what  we  suffer 
in  this  fleeting  world  ?  What  imaginable  proportion 
do  seventy  or  eighty  years  bear  to  the  infinite  dura- 
tion of  such  a  being?  They  dwindle,  they  disappear, 
in  comparison  with  those  mighty  cycles  of  years  that 


LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY.  193 

shall  carry  us  onward  in  endless  progression  through 
our  eternal  state.  They  are  but  as  the  small  dust  of 
the  balance  to  the  vast  globe  of  earth,  or  to  all  those 
vaster  globes  above  us  that  roll  in  their  orbits  through 
the  immensity  of  space. 

And  what  shall  become  of  us  through  this  immor- 
tal duration  ?  This,  and  this  only,  is  the  grand  con- 
cern of  immortals.  Politics  may  have  its  interesting 
theories  bearing  upon  human  government,  and  the 
rights  of  man.  Science  may  have  its  perplexing  and 
intricate  questions  to  solve— questions  bearing  directly 
upon  our  life,  and  health,  and  comfort  in  the  world. 
But  what  are  all  these  to  the  question  of  man's 
eternal  destiny?  Where  is  to  be  our  final  home? 
What  our  final  condition  ?  Is  happiness  to  mark  our 
continued  progress  and  development  ?  Are  we  to  be 
for  ever  drinking  from  the  pure  fountain  of  know- 
ledge ;  for  ever  making  discoveries  in  the  kingdoms 
of  nature,  providence,  and  grace?  Or  is  eternity  to 
roll  its  unnumbered  ages  only  to  bring  with  them 
keener  anguish  and  deeper  despair  ?  Are  we  not 
only  to  retain  all  our  capacities,  but  are  these  capa- 
cities to  enlarge  with  an  eternal  growth,  and  for  ever 
tower  from  glory  to  glory  in  heaven,  or  plunge  from 
depth  to  depth  in  hell  ? 

These  are  awfully  momentous  questions.  Let  each 
of  us  ask  ourselves,  in  the  light  of  reason,  of  con- 
science, and  of  divine  truth,  w^here  will  our  destiny 
be  for  ever  fixed  ?  Are  we  reconciled  to  God  ?  Have 
we  an  interest  in  Christ  ?     Are  we  prepared  for  the 

17 


194  LIFE    AND    IMMORTALITY. 

fruition  of  the  heavenly  state?  Without  this,  even 
though  we  may  be  found  here  among  the  rich,  honor- 
able, healthy,  and  merry,  our  souls  can  neither  be 
satisfied  nor  safe.  Without  this,  what  shall  we  do 
for  happiness  millions  of  ages  hence,  when  all  earthly 
enjoyments  shall  have  vanished  like  a  mist  of  the 
morning  ?  Without  this,  the  resurrection  will  be  no 
privilege,  and  immortality  our  heaviest  curse.  Yea, 
without  this,  our  destiny  will  be  that  of  a  lost  spirit, 
our  eternity  the  home  of  an  abandoned  soul. 

0  what  stupendous  discoveries,  what  solemn  con- 
siderations are  presented  us  in  the  gospel !  Let  them 
alarm  our  fears,  quicken  our  hopes,  and  animate  all 
our  endeavors.  Since  we  are  so  soon  to  launch  into 
this  endless  and  inconceivable  state,  let  us  give  all 
diligence  to  secure  our  entrance  into  bliss. 

Influenced  by  those  considerations,  let  our  views 
expand,  our  affections  be  exalted,  and  we  ourselves 
raised  above  the  tantalizing  power  of  perishing 
things.  And  let  it  be  the  sum  of  our  endeavors  to 
gain  the  approbation  of  that  blessed  Being  whose 
"favor  is  life,"  and  whose  "  loving  kindness  is  bet- 
ter than  life;"  so  that  at  last,  we  may  be  gathered 
to  "  his  presence,  where  is  fulness  of  joy,"  and  dwell 
at  "  his  right  hand,  where  are  pleasures  for  ever- 
more." 

0  where  shall  rest  be  found, 

Rest  for  the  ■weary  soul  ? 
'Twere  vain  the  ocean  depths  to  sound, 

Or  pierce  to  either  pole; 


LIFE     AND     IMMORTALITY.  1[)0 

The  world  can  never  give 

The  bliss  for  which  we  sigh  ; 
'Tis  not  the  whole  of  life  to  live, 

Nor  all  of  death  to  die. 

Beyond  this  vale  of  tears 

There  is  a  life  above, 
Unmeasured  by  the  flight  of  years  ; 

And  all  that  life  is  love. 
There  is  a  death  whose  pang 

Outlasts  the  fleeting  breath  ; 
0  what  eternal  horrors  hang 

Around  "  the  second  death  !" 

Lord  God  of  truth  and  grace, 

Teach  us  that  death  to  shun, 
Lest  we  be  banished  from  thy  face, 

And  evermore  undone. 
Here  would  we  end  our  quest ; 

Alone  are  found  in  thee. 
The  life  of  perfect  love,  the  rest 

Of  immortality. 


196 
SERMON  11. 

THE   TWO    EOCKS  CONTRASTED. 

**  For  their  rock  is  not  as  our  Rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves 
being  judges." — Deut.  xxxii  :  31. 

"What  is  truth?"  said  Pilate  to  the  innocent 
Saviour,  when  arraigned  before  the  bar  of  that  func- 
tionary through  the  malice  of  his  enemies.  No  in- 
quiry could  be  more  important,  and  had  it  been  asked 
in  the  proper  spirit,  and  from  a  sincere  desire  to 
know  its  nature,  no  doubt  it  would  have  received  a 
prompt  and  satisfactory  answer.  It  was  in  con- 
tempt, however,  that  he  asked  the  question,  for  with- 
out even  waiting  a  reply,  he  immediately  arose  and 
left  the  judgment  hall. 

And  though  we  may  regret  that  the  query  was  not 
answered  by  the  Saviour  in  form,  it  was  answered  by 
him  in  fact.  Grace  and  truth  not  only  came  by  him, 
but  he  was  the  truth  itself.  He  not  only  taught  it, 
and  died  to  establish  it,  but  his  whole  life  was  its 
embodiment  and  exemplification.  That  light  of  which 
others,  by  a  long  and  laborious  effort,  had  struck  out, 
here  and  there,  a  single  scintillation,  that  seemed  only 
to  dazzle  and  bewilder  those  who  committed  them- 
selves to  its  guidance,  he  revealed  in  a  blaze  of  noon- 
tide glory.  Wherever  he  sheds  his  cheering  beams, 
those  shadows,  that  so  long  rested  upon  the  moun- 


THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED.    197 

tain  tops,  and  flung  their  sable  pall  over  the  lowly 
vales ;  and,  amidst  the  uplifting  eye  of  faith,  catches 
its  first  glimpse  of  that  world  of  "life  and  immor- 
tality," "whose  existence  our  undying  spirits  had  an- 
ticipated, as  they  turned  empty  and  unsatisfied  from 
the  worldliness  and  vanity  of  earth. 

In  Christ,  emphatically,  "is  light,  and  in  him  is 
no  darkness  at  all."  And  how  refreshing  is  it  to  the 
wearied  and  inquiring  soul,  to  turn  from  the  systems 
of  the  philosophers  to  the  plain  and  simple  teachings 
of  the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  If  ever,  through  the 
■whisperings  of  unbelief,  or  the  inquietude  of  passion, 
she  has  been  tempted  to  forsake  her  seat  with  Mary 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  to  roam  abroad  in  search  of 
a  resting-place  more  congenial  and  more  safe,  how 
soon,  sad  and  disappointed,  does  she  return,  like  the 
trembling  dove  of  Noah,  to  fold  her  w^ary  wings 
upon  the  bosom  of  her  Saviour,  and  to  nestle  closer 
from  "  the  snare  of  the  fowler"  in  his  benevolent 
embrace. 

Yes,  my  hearers,  that  question,  so  thrillingly  in- 
teresting to  every  voyager  across  this  stormy  sea 
of  life  ;  that  question,  over  which  oracles  mumbled 
their  dark  sayings,  and  sages  and  wise  men  stood 
confounded,  has  been  answered,  intelligibly  and  satis- 
factorily, by  Him,  who  spake  and  acted  as  man  be- 
fore or  since  has  never  done. 

How  opportune  his  appearance  in  the  flesh  !  How 
many  events  and  circumstances  in  the  history  of  the 
world  united  to  make  it,  and  to  mark  it  as  "  the  ful- 
17* 


198    THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED. 

ness  of  time  !"  Faint  traces  of  man's  original  happy 
condition  still  remained.  Poets  had  celebrated,  in 
glowing  numbers,  the  excellencies  of  the  golden  age; 
and  nations  had  traced  back  their  origin,  through 
traditionary  legends,  to  fabulous  times,  when  war 
had  not  yet  hardened  nor  the  accursed  lust  of  gold 
sensualized  the  human  heart,  and  when  they  had  sat 
"  every  man  under  his  vine,  and  under  his  fig  tree," 
"with  none  to  molest  or  make  him  afraid." 

And  this  belief,  more  or  less  obscure,  of  the  happy 
primeval  condition  of  man,  was  diffused  through  all 
antiquity,  and  laid  at  the  foundation  of  every  scheme 
of  religion,  from  that  of  the  Bible  to  the  veriest  delu- 
sions of  heathenism.  With  these  traditions  of  the 
past  there  still  lingered  a  hope  that  the  world  should 
not  always  be  "  subject  to  vanity." 

And  the  wise  and  the  good  wearied  themselves  to 
subjugate  the  moral  evil  that  prevailed,  and  to  bring 
back  the  days  of  heaven  upon  earth.  But  "  the 
world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God."  The  most  gigantic 
intellects  amongst  the  heathen  perplexed  themselves 
in  vain  efforts  to  comprehend  him.  In  their  searching 
they  could  find  out  neither  his  nature  nor  his  attri- 
butes; neither  the  mode  of  access  to  his  presence, 
nor  the  means  of  reconciliation  to  his  favor. 

The  religions  of  Jew  and  Gentile  contain  within 
them  the  elements  of  their  own  destruction.  Jewish 
prophecies  were  hastening  to  their  accomplishment. 
And  the  self-made  systems  of  the  philosophers  had 
run  their  course.     They  had  succeeded  each  other  in 


THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED.    199 

such  quick  succession,  as  to  create  in  every  reflecting 
mind  distrust  of  the  ability  of  any  to  cleanse  the 
conscience,  and  to  renovate  the  hearts  of  their 
votaries. 

And  hence,  a  desire  for  something  more  stable  and 
permanent  arose.  The  world  was  in  an  expecting 
attitude.  Oracles,  prophecies,  and  poets — Gentile 
and  Jewish — seemed  pointing  to  some  distinguished 
personage  to  remove  the  physical,  social,  and  moral 
evils  that  prevailed,  and  to  restore  the  golden  age  of 
peace  and  happiness.  It  was  at  this  interesting  crisis 
that  Jesus  appeared  in  Judea  and  Galilee,  suddenly 
springing  from  the  deepest  obscurity  to  astonish  the 
world  by  his  miracles,  to  reform  it  by  his  doctrines, 
and  to  save  it  by  his  blood.  And  in  him  the  wants 
and  wishes  of  mankind  met  a  full  and  happy  grati- 
fication. The  reception  of  him  and  his  truth,  is  pre- 
sent and  everlasting  salvation  ;  their  rejection,  the 
forerunner  of  fearful,  remediless  destruction. 

Human  nature,  in  its  pride  of  intellect  and  self- 
righteousness,  may  be  offended  at  the  obscurity  of 
Christ's  origin,  the  simplicity  of  his  teachings,  the 
humility  of  his  life,  and  the  ignominy  of  his  death. 
But  these  are  amongst  the  best  evidences  of  his 
divine  mission,  and  we  might  reasonably  expect  that 
He,  who  commits  the  treasures  of  his  grace  to 
"earthen  vessels,"  would  choose  "the  foolish  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise;  and  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are 
mighty  ;  and  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things 


200    THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED. 

■which  are  despised,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not, 
to  bring  to  nought  things  that  are;  that  no  flesh 
should  glory  in  his  presence." 

If  the  "Saviour's  visage  was  marred  more  than 
any  man,  and  his  form  more  than  the  sons  of  men," 
yet  in  him  were  "  hidden  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge."  And  if  ever  that  guilt,  which  has 
been  gathering  and  blackening  until  it  is  ripe  for  the 
curse,  is  to  be  cancelled,  Jesus  is  to  do  it ;  if  ever 
that  image,  which  sin  has  effaced,  is  to  be  reinstated 
upon  the  human  soul,  Jesus  is  to  do  it;  and  if  ever 
those  pearly  gates,  which  transgression  had  barred, 
are  to  be  re-opened  for  man's  admission  to  the  eternal 
city  of  God,  Jesus  is  to  do  it.  Every  other  founda- 
tion, however  formed  "  by  art  or  man's  device,"  shall 
fail.  Every  other  hope,  however  cherished  and  trea- 
sured up  in  his  heart  of  hearts,  shall  be  but  as  the 
hope  of  the  hypocrite  and  as  "  the  giving  up  of  the 
ghost." 

The  Bible,  and  the  Bible  from  its  beginning  to  its 
end,  is  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  And  it  is  the  only 
chart,  by  whose  guidance  the  voyager  for  eternity 
can  avoid  the  hidden  rocks  and  dangerous  whirlpools 
that  lie  on  either  hand,  and  threaten  his  destruction. 
And  he  who  launches  upon  the  troubled  sea  of  life 
without  this  unerring  guide,  is  as  infatuated  as  the 
mariner  who  leaves  his  port  without  a  helm  to  steer 
his  vessel,  or  an  anchor  to  hold  it  in  safety. 

No ;  their  rock  is  not  as  our  Rook.  Let  but  reason 
speak,  and  confirm  her  arguments  by  the  ten  thousand 


THE  TWO  EOCKS  CONTRASTED.    201 

facts  which  experience  has  gathered,  and  they  must 
shut  the  mouth  of  every  gainsayer,  and  maintain  the 
transcendent  superiority  of  the  God  of  the  Bible 
over  all  that  have  been  called  gods,  and  that  have 
been  worshipped.  The  Bible,  and  the  claims  of  its 
Author  upon  our  faith  and  service,  challenge  the 
most  rigid  scrutiny. 

There  are  some  timid,  narrow-minded  Christians, 
who  would  have  *'  all  things  continue  as  they  were 
from  the  beginning  of  the  creation  ;"  and  who  are 
ever  in  dread  lest  the  march  of  mind  and  the 
discoveries  of  science  may  perplex  us  with  knotty 
questions,  and  unsettle  the  foundations  of  our  faith. 
But  such  fear  is  idle.  Every  truth  must  be  sus- 
tained by  its  own  evidence.  The  crucible  of  the 
chemist,  whatever  new  combinations  it  may  form, 
or  changes  it  may  make,  will  not  change  the  law  of 
righteousness,  or  dissolve  the  relation  between  the 
Sovereign  of  the  universe  and  the  subjects  of  his 
moral  government.  We  have  no  fear  that  the  ham- 
mer of  the  geologist  will  ever  break  "our  Rock,"  or 
that  the  stratifications  which  lie  at  the  bases  of  Sinai 
and  Calvary  will  ever  disprove  the  solemn  transac- 
tions witnessed  by  their  summits.  And  of  all  this 
we  are  willing  that  our  "  enemies  themselves  shall  be 
the  judges." 

The  affirmation  of  the  text  was  originally  made  by 
Moses,  with  reference  to  Jehovah  of  Hosts,  and  the 
idols  of  the  nations,  when  the  dangers  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  wilderness  were  past,  and  when  nothing 


202    THE  TWO  BOCKS  CONTRASTED. 

but  the  Jordan  divided  the  tribes  from  the  chosen  in- 
heritance of  their  fathers.  They  who  trusted  in  their 
idols  for  succor,  and  who  knew  not  the  power,  or 
despised  the  majesty  of  the  God  of  Israel,  had  united 
for  the  destruction  of  his  people,  and  attacked  them 
on  every  quarter.  But  in  the  strength  of  Jehovah 
Nissi,  "  the  Lord  their  banner,"  they  had  returned 
the  charge,  and  driven  them  before  their  victorious 
arms  as  "chaff  before  the  wind." 

And  as  the  man  of  God  recounts  their  triumphant 
march  up  to  the  very  borders  of  Canaan,  through 
the  swarming  hosts  of  the  Amorites  and  the  Hittites, 
he  breaks  forth  in  the  exulting  language  of  the  text, 
*'  their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock ;  even  our  enemies 
themselves  being  judges."  Leaving  out  of  view  the 
gods  of  the  heathen,  to  which  the  text  primarily 
refers,  we  may  enlarge  the  signification  of  the  text, 
and  consider  the  comparative  excellencies  of  the  god 
of  the  infidel  and  the  God  of  the  Christian,  which  is 
most  likely  to  exalt  the  character,  or  to  meet  the 
wants  and  exigencies  of  man. 

I.  As  TO  THEIR  Comparative  Excellencies. — 
Faith  in  the  existence  of  a  God  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  all  religion.  And  never  was  there  a  more  stu- 
pendous admission.  It  involves  consequences  that, 
growing  with  an  endless  progression,  shall  lay  their 
moulding  hand  upon  the  character,  and  form  the 
destiny  of  the  mind,  that  credits  a  proposition  so 
reasonable  and  so  self-evident. 


THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED.    203 

No  one  to  whom  this  doctrine  is  presented,  but 
must  perceive  at  once  that  he  is  grasping  an  idea  of 
immense  importance,  and  one  that,  from  the  very 
necessity  of  its  nature,  must  have  infinitely  extensive 
bearings.  It  solves  a  thousand  mysteries  that  were 
otherwise  inexplicable.  And  considered  in  its  rela- 
tions to  the  material  and  immaterial  world,  to  every 
object  in  the  wide  range  of  thought,  it  gathers  around 
it  an  interest  which  the  mind,  in  its  loftiest  aspira- 
tions, is  inadequate  to  comprehend.  Faith  in  the 
existence  of  a  God  is  a  dividing  line  between  the 
territories  of  light  and  of  darkness, — between  a  region 
illumined  by  the  acknowledgment  of  an  all-controlling, 
self-existent  cause,  and  a  region  over  which  hang  the 
clouds  and  shadows  and  curses  of  atheism. 

And  if  there  be  a  God  to  whom  we  sustain  the 
relation  of  rational  and  dependent  creatures,  how 
deeply  is  our  interest  and  our  happiness  involved  in 
the  views  we  may  form  of  his  nature  and  character. 
Any  divergency  from  the  right  path  here  must  lead 
us  on  to  irretrievable  ruin.  And  we  assert  that  no- 
where can  we  form  so  proper  conceptions  of  God,  not 
only  in  regard  to  his  absolute  perfections,  but  also 
in  reference  to  his  relations  to  us,  as  in  this  book 
which  professes  to  bring  "life  and  immortality  to 
light." 

For  "  their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock."  I  need 
scarcely  advert  to  the  beauty  and  force  of  the  figure 
used  by  Moses.  What  better  emblem  of  strength,  of 
stability,  of  perpetuity,  in  the  wide  range  of  nature, 


204         THE     TWO     ROCKS     CONTRASTED. 

than  the  rock  ?  Nor  need  we  stand  with  the  wanderer 
of  the  desert  beneath  the  beetling  crags  of  Sinai,  or  at 
Horeb's  foot,  to  appreciate  or  feel  its  force.  Here, 
in  the  sublime  scenery  of  the  rugged  mountains  that 
bound  the  beautiful  vales  in  which  we  dwell,  may  we 
learn  the  significance  of  the  metaphor.  What  mighty 
changes  have  here  taken  place  since  these  rocks  of  ages 
first  heaved  their  huge  masses  to  the  skies  I  Deluges 
have  swept  by  in  their  wrath,  and  that  which  has 
changed  the  face  of  all  else,  has  left  them  unchanged. 
For  ages  the  war-whoop  and  the  arrow  of  the  savage 
have  re-echoed  through  their  solitudes,  and  resounded 
from  their  sides.  These,  too,  have  passed  away  to 
give  place  to  the  woodman's  axe,  and  the  march  of 
civilization.  And  yet  there  those  rocks  remain  in 
stable  perpetuity, — the  best,  the  most  appropriate 
symbol  that  nature  can  produce  of  the  Almighty, 
the  self-existent  and  eternal  Jehovah. 

Such  is  not  the  rock  of  Israel's  enemies,  and  they 
who  trust  that  shall  find  their  hope  to  be  that  of  the 
hypocrite  that  shall  perish,  and  their  "  trust  a  spider's 
web."  And  they  themselves  shall  be  our  judges  in 
this  matter. 

1st.  How  uncertain  are  the  attributes  of  the  in- 
fidel's God.  In  the  records  of  Deism  there  are 
scarcely  two  individuals  that  acknowledge  the  same 
God.  Their  faith  is  founded  on  no  fixed  moral  prin- 
ciples, and  each  is  left  to  form  for  his  worship  such 
a  being  as  his  own  caprice  or  fancy  may  dictate. 
Who  amongst  all  the  masters  of  infidelity  shall  an- 


THE    TWO     ROCKS     CONTRASTED.         205 

swer  to  your  satisfaction  that  important  inquiry, 
What  is  God  ?  Which  of  them  will  give  you  any 
proper  conception  of  his  nature  and  his  attributes  ? 

Is  he  a  being  of  infinite  justice,  and  will  every 
transgression  in  his  government  meet  with  its  just 
recompense  of  reward  ?  What  inquiry  more  thrill- 
ingly  interesting  to  man,  and  yet  what  creed  of  infi- 
delity has  ever  satisfactorily  affirmed  or  denied  the 
proposition  ?  They  wonder  and  bewilder  themselves 
in  a  maze  of  doubt,  and  cannot  tell  you  whether  the 
grave  is  the  end  of  human  existence,  or  whether  we 
are  to  enter  a  world  of  retribution  beyond  its  con- 
fines. 

Is  God  a  being  of  infinite  holiness,  demanding  the 
same  character  in  his  intelligent  worshippers, — or  if 
not  sensual  himself,  as  were  the  gods  of  the  heathens, 
is  he  entirely  indifferent  to  their  state  of  mind  and 
character  ?  Can  any  infidel  tell  us  whether  worship 
is  required,  and  if  so,  what  is  needed  to  make  it 
acceptable  in  his  sight  ?  Instead  of  giving  a  satis- 
factory solution  to  the  difficulty,  the  writers  of  Deism 
either  leave  it  untouched,  or  advance  theories  upon 
the  subject  the  most  contradictory  and  absurd. 

In  fine,  alas  !  differing  with  each  other  and  them- 
selves, they  have  no  unerring  standard  to  which  we 
can  appeal  as  the  end  of  all  doubt  and  all  strife. 
For,  whilst  some  have  entertained  imperfect,  yet  in 
some  degree  just  views  of  God,  and  have  admitted 
man's  accountability,  others  have  indulged  in  the 
most  gross  conceits,  and  have  elevated  the  nature  of 

18 


206  THE    TWO    ROCKS    CONTRASTED. 

God  but  little  above  the  sensual  and  debased  idols  of 
the  pagans.  Not  so  is  it  with  the  being  whom  Chris- 
tians worship.  What  possible  perfection  can  you 
conceive  of  that  he  does  not  possess  ?  Every  excel- 
lency calculated  to  excite  our  gratitude,  induce  our 
homage,  call  forth  our  love,  or  move  our  fears,  are 
found  in  him  in  an  infinite  degree.  They  who  search 
the  Bible  to  find  an  answer  to  that  momentous  ques- 
tion. What  is  God?  need  not  long  remain  in  doubt 
or  darkness. 

That  light  of  Heaven  which  shines  upon  the 
sacred  page,  removes  all  the  mystery  that  otherwise 
shrouds  this  great  subject,  and  reveals  to  the  intelli- 
gent, inquiring  mind,  in  terms  so  plain  that  he  that 
runneth  may  read,  "  what  man  is  to  believe  concern- 
ing God,  and  what  duty  God  requireth  of  man." 

Amongst  the  gods  there  is  none  like  unto  him. 
And  whether  we  look  at  each  of  the  various  attributes 
of  which  his  character  is  composed,  or  at  the  whole 
in  glorious  combination,  we  see  the  indubitable  im- 
press of  certainty.  And  whilst  the  god  of  Deism  is 
as  changeable  as  the  fancy,  the  caprice,  or  the  de- 
pravity of  his  worshippers,  the  God  of  the  Christian 
is  in  every  clime  and  in  every  age,  "the  same  yester- 
day and  to-day  and  for  ever." 

2d.  I  remark  that  the  god  of  the  infidel  is  little 
more  than  a  mere  spectator  of  events,  while  the 
Christian's  God  is  everywhere  in  the  exercise  of  a 
sustaining,  controlling,  and  all-gracious  energy.  The 
deist  scouts  at  the  doctrine  of  a  particular  providence. 


THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED.    207 

It  is  much  more  in  accordance  with  the  character  of 
his  god  to  leave  his  creatures  to  become  the  sport  of 
a  capricious  chance,  as  bubbles  cast  upon  the  surface 
of  the  heaving  ocean  of  life,  only  to  be  dravy-n  hither 
and  thither  by  capricious  currents,  and  then  to  sink 
for  ever  beneath  the  mass. 

For  he  sits  among  them  in  indolent  majesty,  mani- 
festing but  little  regard  for  them,  and  exercising 
little  or  no  control  over  the  works  of  his  hands.  How 
often  do  we  hear  these  infidel  philosophers,  who  arro- 
gate to  themselves  all  wisdom,  speaking  of  the  laws 
of  nature,  and  accounting  for  this  or  that  atmospheric 
phenomenon  or  event  in  the  world  by  a  reference  to 
the  law  of  nature,  just  as  if  nature  was  omnipotent, 
and  its  laws  an  eternal  something^ — a  kind  of  fate 
that  acted  universally  or  essentially,  uncontrolled  and 
uncontrollable  by  any  intelligible  agency  whatever. 
This  is  downright  practical  atheism  ;  for  if  a  law 
of  nature  be  anything  else  than  the  rule  by  which 
the  intelligent  Governor  of  the  universe  carries  out 
his  purposes  and  plans,  we  have  mistaken  the  mean- 
ing of  language  altogether,  and  there  is  no  fixed 
standard  by  which  the  sense  of  our  ideas  are  to  be 
determined. 

If  such  a  doctrine  as  this  be  true,  how  miserable 
man's  present  life  !  How  hopeless  his  future  !  No 
supporting  arm  to  lean  upon,  his  own  weak  powers 
must  battle  with  the  mighty  elements  that  surround 
him,  that  are  hushed  at  no  word  of  command,  and 
know  no  controlling  law  but  their  own  wild  caprice. 


208    THE  TWO  KOCKS  CONTRASTED. 

Upon  his  future,  no  star  of  promise  sheds  even  the 
faintest  ray.  How  many  thrilling  inquiries  here 
crowd  upon  him  I  Is  that  dissolution,  whose  harbin- 
gers are  coming  thick  and  fast  around  him,  to  bring 
entire  annihilation  with  it  ?  Is  this  constant  flow  of 
thought  and  activity  to  cease  for  ever  in  its  course, 
and  this  light  of  reason  to  be  for  ever  blotted  out  in 
darkness  ?  Or  if  not,  if  this  parting  spirit  is  to  sur- 
vive the  grave,  what  is  to  be  its  home  and  its  pursuits  ? 
And  is  that  same  lawless  chance  which  made  it  its 
sport  here,  still  to  pursue  it  through  another  state, 
and  toss  it  as  a  bubble  upon  the  ocean  of  eternity  ? 
Alas !  poor  infidel,  thou  canst  not  tell,  for  the  book 
of  nature  makes  no  revelations  of  an  eternal  state, 
nor  lights  up  the  grave  with  the  hope  of  a  joyful 
resurrection  ? 

But  this  is  not  "our  Rock,"  blessed  be  God,  for 
the  Christian  has  no  such  doubts  or  despair.  Every- 
thing in  heaven  above,  and  earth  beneath,  is  under 
the  supervision  and  control  of  Him,  who  "  doeth  all 
things  well ;"  and  however  adverse  they  may  appear 
to  human  short-sightedness,  they  are  beautifully  and 
harmoniously  working  together  for  the  Christian's 
good.  The  God  he  worships  is  present  in  all  worlds 
to  control  the  events  of  each ;  and  while  the  whole 
system  of  things  moves  on  exactly  in  accordance  with 
the  dictates  of  his  will,  and  of  his  wisdom,  his  regards 
are  as  intensely  fixed  upon  the  destiny  of  the  obscur- 
est individual,  the  unfolding  of  a  flower,  or  the  mo- 
tion of  an  atom,  as  if  it  was  the  only  object  to  engross 


/       THE     TWO     ROCKS     CONTRASTED.  209 

his  infinite  mind.  In  the  government  of  the  Chris- 
tian's God,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  chance.  As 
nothing  is  too  grand,  so  nothing  is  too  insignificant  for 
his  eje,  or  his  providence  to  reach ;  and  the  veriest 
worm  that  creeps  upon  the  earth,  and  the  most  ardent 
seraph  that  burns  before  his  throne,  are  alike  within 
the  range  of  his  vision,  within  the  control  of  his  arm, 
and  within  the  circle  of  his  regard. 

"  To  Him,  no  high,  no  low,  no  great,  no  small, 
He  fills,  he  bounds,  connects,  and  equals  all. 
He  sees  with  equal  eye,  as  God  of  all, 
A  hero  perish,  or  a  sparrow  fall ; 
Atoms,  or  systems,  into  ruin  hurled, 
^     And  now  a  bubble  burst,  and  now  a  world." 

In  such  a  faith  as  this,  the  mind  reposes  with 
confidence.  That  doubt  and  uncertainty,  in  which 
events  and  their  consequences  are  wrapped  up  by  the 
gloomy  creed  of  infidelity,  finds  no  place  in  the 
Christian's  soul.  His  heavenly  Father  rules  over  all. 
Winds,  and  waves,  and  human  hearts,  are  in  his 
hands,  and  when  his  purposes  are  accomplished  by 
their  blind  fury,  they  shall  sink  to  rest  at  his  bidding. 
And  in  the  triumph  of  an  overcoming  faith,  may  his 
servants  exclaim,  "  This  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and 
ever;  he  will  be  our  guide,  even  unto  death." 

II.  Let  us  consider  which  is  best  adapted  to  exalt 
the  character  of  man.  That  a  belief  in  the  Christian's 
God  is  best  adapted  to  exalt  and  improve  human  cha- 

18* 


210    THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED. 

racter,  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  he  is  a  Being  with 
whom  man  is  brought  into  more  immediate  contact. 
The  deist  does  not  expect  to  meet  his  god,  unless  it  be 
in  the  w^orks  of  nature,  or  in  some  ^f  the  great  revo- 
lutions of  society,  and  often  in  these,  he  is  so  wrapped 
up  in  clouds  and  darkness,  as  to  be  scarcely  visible 
or  tangible. 

But  the  Christian's  God  meets  him  everywhere. 
Not  only  is  all  nature  animated  by  his  presence,  and 
vocal  with  his  praise  ;  not  only  does  he  meet  him 
when  the  elements  are  abroad  in  their  fury,  and  all 
nature  is  convulsed ;  not  only  does  he  meet  him  when 
the  great  ocean  of  the  human  mind  is  stirred  up  to 
its  profoundest  depths,  and  the  nations  are  heaving 
and  tossing  like  the  billows  of  the  sea ;  but  he  sees 
his  hand  in  every  movement  of  nature  and  in  every 
day's  occurrence  in  human  life.  Every  sense  is  alive 
to  his  presence ;  every  sense  gives  evidence  of  his 
controlling  agency. 

*'  He  warms  in  the  sun,  refi-eslies  in  the  breeze  ; 
Glows  in  the  stars,  and  blossoms  in  the  trees ; 
Lives  through  all  life,  extends  through  all  extent ; 
Spreads  undivided,  operates  unspent." 

And  there  is  anothercloser  contact  of  the  Deity  with 
man,  of  which  the  rejecter  of  revelation  can  have  no 
conception  and  to  whose  influence  he  is  lost.  I  refer  to 
his  assumption  of  man's  nature  in  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ.  To  the  deist  God's  attributes  are  but  as  a  sort 
of  abstraction,  which  ever  elude  the  grasp  of  his  intel- 


THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED.    211 

lect.  But  the  Christian's  God  comes  out  from  behind 
the  veil  of  his  abstract  perfections,  and  brings  himself 
directly  in  contact  with  our  thoughts  and  feelings. — 
I  had  almost  said  with  our  very  senses,  in  the  person 
of  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  And  in  this  manifestation 
of  God  in  the  flesh,  the  divine  glory  is  so  softened 
that  we  can  gaze  upon  it  without  being  overpowered 
by  the  vision. 

The  actions,  too,  of  God,  we  can  here  view  ;  the 
attributes  of  God  we  can  here  contemplate ;  the  au- 
thoritative declarations  of  God  we  can  here  listen  to, 
through  the  medium  of  a  nature  as  our  own. 

And  has  all  this  no  elevating  influence  upon  human 
character?  Can  he  grovel  in  the  dust  who  feels  that 
he  is  living  and  moving  and  having  his  being  in  such 
a  God  as  this  ?  Shall  he  want  stronger  evidence  to 
attest,  and  stronger  appeals  to  call  forth,  the  active 
principles  of  his  nature?  Can  the  infidel's  god,  in 
that  remote  and  dim  abstraction  in  which  he  must 
appear  to  his  worshippers,  awaken  such  sentiments 
of  gratitude,  of  love,  of  hope,  of  confidence,  of  humi- 
lity as  fill  the  breast  of  the  Christian  believer?  Why, 
surely,  if  there  is  a  single  dormant  virtue  in  the 
human  soul,  the  breath  of  Christian  faith  will  kindle 
the  slumbering  spark  into  life,  and  make  it  glow  and 
burn  with  all  the  ardor  of  a  seraph's.  To  know  God, 
to  serve  him,  to  enjoy  him,  is  to  the  devout  Christian, 
the  great  end  of  human  existence.  Earthly  distinc- 
tions vanish  before  the  ineffable  brightness  of  the 
eternal  throne;    earthly  hopes  are  swallowed  up  in 


212    THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED. 

the  prospect  of  that  "far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
^y eight  oT  glory." 

In  the  beautiful  and  sublime  language  of  another, 
"  He  may  be  unacquainted  with  the  works  of  philo- 
sophers and  poets,  but  he  is  deeply  read  in  the  ora- 
cles of  God  ;  his  name  may  not  be  found  in  the  regis- 
ter of  heralds,  or  amongst  the  catalogue  of  earth's 
heroes  and  statesmen,  but  he  trusts  it  is  recorded  in 
the  book  of  life.  If  his  steps  be  not  attended  by  a 
princely  retinue,  angels  are  his  ministers,  and  bright 
spirits  of  the  upper  world,  his  every-day  attendants ; 
his  palace  is  '  a  house  not  made  with  hands ;'  his 
diadem  '  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away ;' 
and  if  he  has  them  not  in  possession,  he  knows  they 
are  in  reversion  for  him,  and  shall  be  given  to  him  in 
that  day  when  '  God  makes  up  his  jewels.'  On  the 
rich,  on  the  eloquent,  on  nobles,  and  priests,  he  may 
look  down  with  contempt.  He  is  rich  in  a  more  pre- 
cious treasure,  eloquent  in  a  more  sublime  language, 
and  noble  by  the  right  of  an  earlier  creation." 

For  his  sake,  and  that  of  the  Church  of  the  living 
God,  of  which  he  is  a  part,  empires  have  risen  and 
flourished,  and  decayed.  For  his  sake  the  Almighty 
has  proclaimed  his  will  amidst  the  thunders  and  tem- 
pests of  Sinai,  in  the  still  small  voice,  and  in  the 
milder  beauties  and  glories  of  Zion.  For  him  he  has 
revealed,  by  the  harp  of  the  prophets  and  the  pen  of 
the  evangelist,  a  destiny  such  as  Plato  in  all  his  wis- 
dom never  dreamed,  and  Solomon  in  all  his  glory 
never  equalled. 


THE     TWO     ROCKS     CONTRASTED.         213 

For  his  destruction,  all  hell  is  in  motion  ;  for  his 
deliverance,  all  heaven  is  on  the  alert.  "  Michael 
and  his  angels  warring  against  the  dragon  and  his 
angels."  The  great  "  Captain  of  his  salvation"  is 
the  eternal  Son  of  the  Highest ;  the  price  of  his  ran- 
som, the  blood-sweat  in  the  garden,  and  the  untold 
agony  upon  the  tree. 

And  has  infidelity  anything  in  its  creed  to  com- 
pare with  this  ?  Has  it  anything  to  ennoble,  to 
purify,  to  exalt  and  refine,  and  to  make  man  what 
his  Creator  destined  him  to  be — the  image  of  his  own 
sublime  nature — the  transcript  of  his  own  glorious 
perfections  ?  Have  the  writings  of  the  great  masters 
of  deism  ever  produced  such  efi'ects  upon  those  who 
have  received  their  sentiments  or  followed  in  their 
wake?     Let  our  enemies  themselves  be  our  judges. 

The  "  Christian  is  the  highest  style  of  man;"  for 
true  Christianity  is  the  source  of  all  genuine  polite- 
ness, and  of  all  true  liberality  ;  and  while  it  fits  for 
the  duties,  it  also  beautifies  and  adorns  every  relation 
in  life.  It  makes  the  upright  ruler,  the  good  citizen, 
the  faithful  husband,  the  affectionate  wife,  the  care- 
ful tender  parent,  the  loving  obedient  child,  and  the 
faithful  obedient  servant. 

And  lastly,  let  us  consider  ivhich  is  most  likely  to 
meet  the  exigencies  and  tvants  of  man  ?  Which 
gives  the  most  security,  the  most  sensible  enjoyment, 
and  the  most  supplies  ?  Nor  shall  our  views  and 
feelings  be  made  the  standard  of  judgment ;  ye  your- 


214    THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED. 

selves  shall  be  the  judges.  1st,  We  appeal  to  your 
experience.  Experience  is  knowledge  derived  from 
experiment,  in  opposition  to  mere  theory  or  hypo- 
thesis, and  may  just  as  safely  be  applied  to  morals  as 
to  physics.  Experience  is  the  best  standard  to  which 
we  can  appeal,  and  nothing  can  better  test  the  cha- 
racter and  standing  of  the  principles  which  we  avow. 
And  what,  unbeliever,  is  your  experience  in  regard 
to  the  rock  on  which  you  depend  ?  What  changes 
has  it  wrought  upon  you  ?  Has  it  eradicated  a  single 
habit  of  sin  ?  Has  it  overpowered  one  single  one  of 
these  natural  impulses  to  evil,  which  hurry  us  head- 
long downward,  and  debase,  and  debauch,  and  de- 
stroy the  soul  ?  Has  it  conquered  any  depraved 
appetite  ?  Has  it  implanted  a  single  principle,  whose 
tendency  is  to  elevate  and  purify,  and  to  fit  man  to 
discharge  every  duty,  and  to  adorn  every  station  in 
which  Providence  may  place  him  ? 

Point  me,  indeed,  anywhere,  to  one  character 
formed  under  belief  of  the  infidel's  god,  that  exhibits 
a  high  degree  of  moral  virtue.  You  may  find  some 
who  are  inofi'ensive,  and  who  may  be  said  to  be  nega- 
tively good,  as  they  are  free  fr()m  gross  and  open 
vice.  But  never  will  you  find  one  of  lofty,  virtuous 
aspirations,  or  elevated  to  a  high  standard  of  moral 
excellence. 

Where  are  the  Edwardses,  the  Howards,  and  the 
Wilberforces  of  the  world,  the  great  pioneers  of  moral 
reform,  and  instruments  of  her  regeneration  ?  Their 
names  illumine  not  the  records  of  deism.     You  find 


THE    TWO     ROCKS     CONTRASTED.  215 

them  the  worshippers  of  the  God  of  the  Bible, — the 
followers  of  Him  who  embraced  a  wide  world  in  the 
arms  of  his  benevolence. 

2d.  We  appeal  to  your  enjoyments.  Happiness  is 
the  goal  for  which  all  are  aiming,  and  the  truth  or 
falsity  of  any  scheme  of  religion  may  be  measured 
and  determined  by  its  ability  to  contribute  to  this 
grand  desideratum  of  human  existence.  What  pre- 
sent enjoyment  has  your  system  imparted  ?  AYhat 
hope  of  future  bliss  has  it  enkindled  in  the  soul  ? 

What  support  does  it  afford  you  in  the  trials  inci- 
dent to  this  mortal  state  ?  Can  it  buoy  you  above  the 
waves  of  affliction  ?  Can  it  dissipate  the  shadows  of 
the  dark  valley  of  death  ?  Can  it  compensate  your 
loss  of  friends,  or  cheer  your  hours  of  bereavement 
with  the  prospect  of  a  blissful  reunion  in  a  world 
where  the  ties  of  friendship  shall  never  be  severed? 
Does  your  creed  satisfy  the  craving  of  your  immortal 
spirit  after  substantial  good  ?  Does  it  point  with  any 
degree  of  certainty  to  a  home  "  where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling,  and  where  the  weary  are  at 
rest  ?"  "I  speak  as  unto  wise  men,  judge  ye  what 
I  say." 

That  prince  of  infidels,  Voltaire,  said,  in  writing 
to  a  confidential  friend  and  admirer,  "  I  hate  life, 
and  I  dread  death."  And  this  was  said  by  a  man 
who  had  a  renown  for  literary  and  dramatic  talent, 
unequalled  by  any  contemporary.  This  was  said  by 
him  on  whose  brow  but  a  short  time  before,  had 
been  placed  the  "laureate  crown,"  amidst  the  accla- 


21G  THE     TAYO     ROCKS     CONTRASTED. 

nications  of  rejoicing  tjiousands.  This  was  said  by  him 
whose  society  was  courted  by  the  proudest  monarch 
of  the  age  ;  and  who,  the  admired  of  all  admirers, 
enlivened  the  gay  assemblies  of  Paris  and  Berlin  with 
flashes  of  wit,  and  strokes  of  repartee,  as  brilliant, 
as  they  were  ingenious  and  novel. 

And  no  doubt  the  blinded  world,  who  worshipped 
him  as  the  god  of  her  idolatry,  thought  him  a  happy 
man ;  and  surely  here  was  sufficient  material  for  self- 
gratulation  and  enjoyment.  But  the  world  knew  not 
the  secret  heart  of  Voltaire.  The  gay  countenance 
of  the  witty  philosopher  was  often  a  sad  index  to  the 
real  feelings  of  his  soul.  Courted  and  flattered  by 
small  and  great,  and  surrounded  by  everything  that 
could  give  to  life  a  relish,  the  expectant  of  a  literary 
immortality  that  should  outlive  the  marble  and  the 
brass,  that  man  hated  life  and  dreaded  death.  With 
all  the  world  could  give  him,  it  could  not  give  him 
that  which  most  of  all  he  needed, — peace  of  mind. 
With  all  that  had  been  lavished  upon  him,  his  soul 
was  still  empty  and  unsatisfied.  What  a  striking 
comment  upon  infidelity !  What  a  verdict  upon  his 
own  principles,  by  one  who,  in  his  efforts  to  subvert 
the  kingdom  of  Jesus,  made  his  motto  "  Crush  the 
wretch."  Did  he  do  it  ?  Did  he  not  rather  crush 
himself?  "  W^hosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone  shall 
be  broken  ;  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will 
grind  him  to  powder." 

Be  ye  the  judges  if  the  case  of  Voltaire  in  his  infi- 
delity be  peculiar.     Is  it  not  as  universal  as  the  ex- 


THE     TWO     ROCKS     CONTRASTED.  217 

istence  of  a  conscience  unappeased,  and  a  heart  un- 
washed from  sin? 

Lastly,  we  appeal  to  the  bed  of  sickness,  and  to 
the  solemnities  of  death.  If  ever  men  are  honest,  it 
is  on  a  dying  bed.  If  ever  their  real  sentiments  are 
expressed,  it  is  when  they  are  on  the  borders  of  that 
unknown  land  from  which  no  traveller  ever  returns. 
Where,  then,  is  the  god  of  the  infidel  ?  Where,  then, 
is  the  power  of  his  creed  to  sustain  in  that  most  fear- 
ful and  trying  of  all  human  events?  Can  he  go  down 
into  "the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,"  and  "  fear 
no  evil  ?"  Can  he  commit  himself  to  the  cold  waves, 
that  divide  this  world  of  flesh  and  blood  from  the 
spirit  land,  with  the  faintest  hope  that  his  shall  be 
a  happy  destiny  ?  Go  ask  the  masters  of  infidelity 
themselves,  the  Humes,  the  Yoltaires,  the  Paines. 
Do  you  see  them  gathering  their  philosophy  about 
them  and  lying  down  to  die  in  calmness  and  com- 
posure, as  examples  to  their  followers  ?  Nay,  instead 
of  this,  you  see  them  sneaking  out  of  life  as  cowards 
and  as  felons,  mingling  supplications  wdth  curses,  to 
that  Saviour  whom  they  had  in  vain  attempted  to 
crush,  and  then  rushing — they  know  not  where.  Oh 
if  this  be  the  end  of  the  unbeliever,  how  dreadful  be- 
yond description !  Yet  such  are  the  legitimate  re- 
sults of  infidelity. 

Turn  with  me  from  these  scenes  of  horror,  to  "  the 
chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate."  Wit- 
ness the  triumph  of  faith  over  sense,  the  hopes  that 
bud  and  blossom  on   the  very  margin  of  the  grave. 

19 


218    THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED. 

For  the  believer,  "  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is 
gain."  "This,"  said  an  eminent  saint,  in  the  hour 
of  dissolution,  "  is  not  dying,  this  is  falling  asleep  in 
Jesus  ;"  and  calmly  and  serenely,  as  if  he  was  but 
wrapping  his  mantle  about  him,  and  lying  down  to 
pleasant  dreams,  he  passed  to  his  Saviour's  bosom. 

When  the  devoted  Philip  Jenks  was  struggling  in 
the  last  pains  of  death,  one  said  to  him,  "  How  hard 
it  is  to  die."  He  replied,  ''Oh,  no,  no  ;  easy  dying, 
blessed  dying,  glorious  dying.  I  have  experienced 
more  happiness  in  dying  two  hours  this  day,  than  in 
my  whole  life.  It  is  worth  a  whole  life  to  have  such 
an  end  as  this.  I  have  long  desired  that  I  might 
glorify  God  in  my  death,  but  oh,  I  never  thought 
that  such  a  poor  worm  as  I  could  come  to  such  a 
glorious  death." 

Old  Simeon,  clasping  the  infant  Saviour  in  his 
arms,  could  say,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant 
depart  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salva- 
tion." And  the  honored  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  as 
the  hour  of  his  departure  approaches,  longs  to  be 
dismissed  from  the  cumbrous  clay,  and  kindling  into 
rapture  at  the  prospect  of  dissolution,  exclaims,  "  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day ;  and  not 
to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  ap- 
pearing." Why  these  shouts  of  triumph  from  the 
very  swellings  of  Jordan  ?     Why  comes  this  song  of 


THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED.    219 

salvation  floating  its  sweet  music  across  the  waves  of 
death,  if  Jesus  be  not  the  only  Saviour  of  the  world, 
and  the  promises  of  the  gospel  the  only  hope  of  the 
dying  sons  of  men  ?  "  Even  our  enemies  themselves 
being  judges,"  have  we  not  indubitable  evidence 
that — 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed, 
Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are  ; 
While  on  his  breast  we  lean  our  head, 
And  breathe  our  life  out  sweetly  there  ?" 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  we  leave  you  to  judge  and 
decide  in  this  matter.  It  is  a  question  of  the  utmost 
importance,  and  one  upon  which  is  suspended  your 
everlasting  destiny.  Who  of  you,  then,  will  dare 
trust  the  infidel's  god  as  a  refuge, — as  a  Saviour  for 
pardon  and  peace  ?  Who  will  dare  trust  him  in  the 
hour  of  extremity;  and  on  the  bed  of  death,  or  be 
willing  to  throw  his  deathless  spirit  on  his  protection 
for  eternity  ?  Who  will  dare  do  this,  when  thousands, 
who  have  already  done  it,  have  died  reproaching 
themselves  for  their  wretched  infatuation  ?  If  any 
of  you  who  adopt  the  infidel's  creed  are  right  and 
we  are  wrong,  still  our  prospect  for  eternity  is  as 
good  as  yours.  But  oh !  if  the  reverse  be  true*  if 
we  are  right  and  you  are  wrong,  you  are  running  a 
fearful  hazard  if  you  reject  the  only  hope  of  the 
sinner,  and  grieve  away  by  wilful  unbelief  that  blessed 
Spirit,  that  would  woo  and  win  you,  as  trophies  of 
mercy,  to  the  feet  of  Jesus.     "  Oh!  that  you  were 


220    THE  TWO  ROCKS  CONTRASTED. 

wise,  that  you  understood  this,  that  you  would  con- 
sider your  latter  end." 

Lastly,  let  the  Christian  be  satisfied  with  his  choice. 
If  infidels  will  not  be  convinced.  Christians  should 
be  confirmed.  A  faithful  and  unchanging  God  is 
their  strong  refuge.  This  "  Rock"  has  supported  the 
Church  in  every  age,  amidst  violent  opposition  and 
arduous  labor,  and  it  shall  never  cease  toward  her 
its  protection  and  aid,  so  that,  according  to  the  pro- 
mise, "  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
her." 

And  if  any  of  you,  my  dying  hearers,  would  have 
the  Christian's  God  to  be  your  portion,  you  must 
devote  your  hearts  and  lives  to  his  service ;  you  must 
love  him  supremely,  trust  him  implicitly,  and  obey 
him  fully.  Then,  I  repeat  it,  you  maybe  fearless  in 
adversity,  fearless  in  death,  and  fearless  amid  the 
funeral  fires  of  the  world. 


Happy  the  man  -whose  hopes  rely- 
On  Israel's  God  ;  He  made  the  sky, 

And  earth,  and  seas,  -with  all  their  train  ; 
His  truth  for  ever  stands  secure  ; 
He  saves  the  oppressed,  He  feeds  the  poor, 

And  none  shall  find  His  promise  vain. 

The  Lord  hath  eyes  to  give  the  blind ; 
The  Lord  supports  the  sinking  mind ; 

He  sends  the  laboring  conscience  peace; 
He  helps  the  stranger  in  distress, 
The  -wido-w  and  the  fatherless, 

And  grants  the  prisoner  s-weet  release. 


HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS.       221 

He  loves  his  saints,  He  knows  them  well, 
But  turns  the  wicked  down  to  hell ; 

Thj'  God,  0  Sion,  ever  reigns  ; 
Let  every  tongue,  let  every  age, 
In  this  exalted  work  engage ; 

Praise  Him  in  everlasting  strains. 

I'll  praise  Him  while  he  lends  me  breath ; 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers  ; 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past. 
While  life  and  thought  and  being  last. 

Or  immortality  endures. 


SERMON  III. 

HALTING   BETWEEN   TWO    OPINIONS. 

''And  Elijah  came  unto  all  the  people,  and  said,  How  long 
halt  ye  between  two  opinions  ?  If  the  Lord  he  God,  follow  him  ; 
but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him." — 1  Kings,  xviii.  21. 

Israel,  as  the  Lord  informs  us  by  his  prophet 
Jeremiah,  chap.  2  :  13,  "  had  committed  two  evils ; 
they  had  forsaken  him,  the  fountain  of  living  waters, 
and  hewed  them  out  cisterns,  broken  cisterns,  that 
could  hold  no  water."  From  the  day  in  which  they 
had  revolted  from  the  son  of  Solomon,  and  listened 
to  the  seducing  words  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat, 
they  had  almost  entirely  cast  off  their  allegiance  to 
19* 


222       HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS. 

the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  given  themselves  up  to 
the  debasing  idolatries  of  the  heathen  around  them. 

Their  princes,  without  a  single  exception,  had  led 
the  way  in  this  wicked  and  daring  apostacy.  They 
endeavored  to  break  down  the  separating  wall  by 
which  the  Almighty  had  hedged  t^em  up  from  the 
nations  around  them,  and  they  made  the  altars  of 
Israel  to  smoke  with  sacrifices,  and  her  people  to 
bow  down  in  worship  to  "them  that  were  no  gods." 

This  apostacy  and  idolatry  were  not  without  their 
punishment.  They  provoked  the  jealousy  and  indig- 
nation of  Him  who  has  said,  "  My  glory  will  I  not 
give  to  another,  neither  my  praise  to  graven  images." 
He  delivered  this  people  up,  in  consequence,  into 
the  hands  of  their  enemies.  He  permitted  those 
very  nations  whose  idolatries  they  had  imitated,  and 
whose  abominations  they  had  adopted,  to  trample 
upon  them.  Yea,  his  curse  rested  upon  the  work  of 
their  hands.  For  three  years  and  a  half  he  withheld 
from  them  the  rains  of  heaven,  and  made  the  heavens 
above  them  as  brass,  and  the  earth  under  them  as 
iron,  even  to  cut  off  from  the  land  "  the  whole  stay 
of  bread  and  the  whole  stay  of  water." 

Gaunt  famine  stalked  through  the  land.  The  king 
on  his  throne  and  the  beggar  upon  the  dung-hill, 
were  alike  destitute  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and 
pined  away  under  its  withering  touch.  Yet  the  Lord 
will  have  his  witness  in  the  most  degenerate  times, 
and  as  he  does  not  immediately  cut  off  his  professing 
people  for  their  sins,  he  employs  various  means  to 


HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS.       223 

convince  them  of  those  sins  of  which  they  are  guilty, 
and  to  bring  them  to  repentance  of  them. 

Having  afflicted  Israel  for  more  than  three  years 
with  famine,  he  now  sends  his  servant  Elijah,  whom 
he  had  hitherto  kept  concealed  from  the  fury  of  the 
idolatrous  Ahab,  fearlessly  to  disclose  to  the  king 
the  cause  of  the  divine  judgment.  As  he  suddenly 
appears  before  him,  Ahab  immediately  charges  him 
with  being  a  troubler  in  Israel,  because,  as  the  faithful 
minister  of  God,  he  had  not  ceased  to  warn  the  nation 
of  the  consequences  of  their  idolatry,  and  to  labor  to 
bring  them  back  to  the  worship  of  the  Most  High. 
The  prophet  denies  the  charge,  and,  fearless  of  the 
tyrant's  rage,  denounces  him  as  being  the  real  troubler 
of  Israel.  "  And  he  answered,  I  have  not  troubled 
Israel;  but  thou  and  thy  father's  house,  in  that  ye 
have  forsaken  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  and 
thou  hast  followed  Balaam.  Now  therefore  send, 
and  gather  to  me  all  Israel  unto  Mount  Carmel,  and 
the  prophets  of  Baal  four  hundred  and  fifty,  and  the 
prophets  of  the  grove  four  hundred,  which  eat  at 
Jezebel's  table." 

The  boldness  with  which  the  prophet  made  the 
charge  was  intimidating  to  the  wicked  king.  He 
had  still  some  secret  dread  of  the  prophet's  power, 
and  of  the  authority  of  Him  under  whom  he  acted, 
and  finding  that  the  prophet  would  not  be  forced  into 
his  measures,  and  willing,  perhaps,  to  be  on  terms 
with  him,  in   order   to  procure   the  removal  of  the 


224      HALTING    BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS. 

famine,  he  is  induced  to  consent  to  the  command 
which  he  made. 

To  the  altars,  then,  which  they  had  erected  on 
Mount  Carmel,  where  they  offered  up  their  unholy 
sacrifices,  the  eight  hundred  and  fifty  prophets  of 
Baal  and  the  groves  are  commanded  to  appear,  and 
with  them  all  Israel.  And  here,  in  the  places  of 
their  power,  and  before  their  false  gods,  Elijah  desires 
to  confront  them  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  to 
bring  the  matter  to  a  fair  decision,  and  to  see  by 
whose  power  the  drought  had  been  sent,  and  at  whose 
will  it  could  be  removed.  At  the  time  and  place 
appointed  they  all  assembled,  and,  before  proceeding 
to  the  experiment  that  was  to  test  the  true  divinity 
of  the  place,  he  puts  to  the  vacillating  and  unstable 
Israelites  the  query  of  the  text :  "  How  long  halt  ye 
between  two  opinions  ?  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow 
him  ;  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  As  conviction 
or  interest  prompted,  they  had  been  yielding  homage 
to  Jehovah  and  to  Baal.  Now,  either  the  one  or  the 
other  of  these  was  false,  and  such  indecision  on  their 
part  was  not  only  irrational  but  highly  culpable,  and 
it  was  all-important  that  an  election  of  one  or  the 
other  should  be  made.  "  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow 
him  ;  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him." 

And  this  spirit  of  indecision  between  the  service 
of  God  and  the  idolatries  of  the  world,  so  severely 
reproved  by  the  prophet,  was  not  peculiar  to  the 
ancient  Israelite.  It  still  has  its  place  in  the  hearts 
of  multitudes   who,    whilst   they   acknowledge    the 


HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS.        225 

claims  of  God  upon  them,  are  still  found  in  the  ranks 
of  his  enemies. 

There  can  be  nothing  more  dangerous  than  this 
vacillating,  indecisive  spirit.  It  generally  results  in 
a  procrastination  of  the  great  things  of  religion,  until 
"  the  axe  is  laid  unto  the  root  of  the  tree."  God 
has  appointed  in  his  church  various  means  of  grace, 
and  has  essentially  connected  our  salvation  with  their 
appropriate  use,  and  to  neglect  or  slight  them  must 
be  ruinous  to  the  soul.  Nay,  the  church  visible  is 
"  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,"  and  a  connexion 
with  that  church,  and  a  profession  of  faith  in  the 
name  of  Him  who  founded  it,  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
minent tests  of  discipleship,  and  the  point  at  which 
men  are  so  often  apt  to  "  halt  between  two  opinions." 

It  is  to  tJie  necessity  of  tliis  outward  prof ession,  and 
to  the  importance  of  a  prompt  and  right  decision  in 
regard  to  it,  that  I  now  desire  to  call  your  attention. 
And  if  any  of  you  are  halting  between  two  opinions 
upon  it,  or  are  undecided  whether  to  come  out  on 
the  Lord's  side  or  not,  I  hope  that  the  motives  and 
arguments  presented  may  bring  you  at  once  to  that 
decision,  which  shall  bring  with  it  no  regrets  on  a 
dying  bed,  or  at  a  judgment  bar.  You  will  all  admit 
that  a  happy  destiny  for  eternity  is  an  object  of  the 
greatest  importance,  and  that  existence  boasts  no 
blessings,  the  universe  no  charms,  so  long  as  the 
question  of  our  eternal  destination  is  undetermined. 
And  whilst  we  note  these  concessions  of  the  value  of 
Christian  hope,  and  the  importance  of  Christian  pro- 


226      HALTING    BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS. 

fession  and  practice,  some  of  you  are  standing  back 
from  the  fountain  of  Israel,  and  like  Naaman  of  old, 
refusing  to  hear  the  voice  of  God's  great  prophet. 

Everywhere  do  the  scriptures  represent  man  to  be 
in  a  helpless  and  perishing  condition.  And  I  need 
not  tell  you  that  the  only  possibility  of  deliverance 
for  any  sinner  under  heaven,  flows  from  the  inter- 
position of  Jesus  Christ.  Then  surely  if  the  Messiah 
has  appointed  means  for  salvation,  they  who  refuse 
to  use  them  must  lose  the  benefit  of  his  interposition 
and  perish  in  their  sins.  We  mean  to  say  that  out 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  there  is  no  ordinary  possi- 
bility of  salvation,  and  in  doing  so  we  mean  to  attach 
no  meritorious  power,  no  episcopal  grace,  to  ordi- 
nances, nor  to  give  them  any  efficacy  apart  from  "  the 
blessing  of  Christ  and  the  working  of  his  spirit  in 
them  that  by  faith  receive  them."  Nor  do  we  mean 
to  assume  for  the  Church  and  its  officers  any  spiritual 
authority  beyond  what  the  Bible  grants  them.  But 
as  Christ  has  made  our  connexion  with  that  Church, 
and  our  reception  of  the  ordinances  administered  in 
it,  a  test  of  Christianity  and  a  badge  of  discipleship, 
without  these  we  can  neither  expect  to  grow  in  grace 
inwardly,  nor  to  be  considered  outwardly  as  sincere 
followers  of  Christ. 

I  know  the  sentiment  may  appear  harsh  to  some 
who  desire  salvation  on  their  own  terms.  And  I  may 
be  asked,  if  there  is  no  possible  salvation  out  of  the 
Church's  pale,  what  shall  the  heathen  do  ?  What 
must  become  of  the  moral  and  the  upright,  who, 


HALTING    BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS.      227 


though  not  professors  of  religion,  are  often  superior 
in  character  to  those  that  are  ?  Or  why  attach  so 
much  importance  to  mere  outward  forms,  when  all 
admit  that  true  piety  consists  not  in  a  mere  profes- 
sion of  religion  or  reception  of  ordinances,  but  in  a 
right  state  of  heart  towards  God  and  man  ? 

Questions  such  as  these,  though  they  may  arise  in 
an  inquiring  mind,  are  irrelevant  to  the  point  at  issue, 
and  need  but  a  word  to  answer  them.  It  is  not  with 
the  heathen  that  we  have  to  do  to-day;  doubtless  they 
that  are  without  law  shall  be  judged  without  law. 
Leave  them  where  the  Bible  leaves  them,  in  the  hand 
of  Jesus  Christ.  We  need  not  fear  but  that  He 
whose  love  for  our  race,  both  the  manger  and  the 
cross  have  witnessed,  will  be  just  in  every  judgment 
he  passes  upon  his  creatures,  whether  it  be  of  acquit- 
tal or  condemnation. 

Our  business  is  not  with  the  heathen  to  whom  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation  have  never  come,  but  to  you, 
gospel  hearers;  to  you,  ye  children  of  the  Church, 
whose  infant  lips  were  first  taught  to  lisp  the  name 
of  Jesus,  and  who  have  grown  up  in  his  knowledge, 
and  the  question  is  whether  you  in  possession  of  these 
privileges  can  hope  for  salvation  if  you  refuse  to  pro- 
fess that  Saviour  before  the  world  ? 

Nor  will  the  fact  that  there  are  unworthy  profes- 
sors in  the  Church,  obviate  the  difficulty  or  make  the 
subject  one  of  no  importance.  There  have  been 
hypocrites  in  the  Church,  and  there  will  be  to  the  end 
of  time.     There  was   a  Judas  in  the  fumily  of  the 


228      HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS. 


Saviour,  and  all  the  safeguards  Avhich  the  officers  of 
God's  house,  can  throw  around  it  will  not  keep  out 
some  who  should  never  have  been  within  its  pale. 
But  the  question  before  us  is  not  whether  the  false, 
hypocritical  professor  in  the  Church  will  be  saved, — 
we  know  he  will  not, — but  whether  those  who  stand 
without,  and  refuse  to  make  a  sincere  and  godly  pro- 
fession can  be  saved  whilst  remaining  in  that  state? 
And  shall  the  hypocrisy  of  others  excuse  our  negli- 
gence ? 

Nor  do  we  ask  for  forms  and  ordinances  any  undue 
value ;  we  do  not  wish  to  substitute  a  mere  profession 
for  purity  of  heart ;  we  only  desire  to  connect  ends 
with  their  appointed  and  necessary  means.  God 
nourishes  neither  the  body  nor  the  soul  by  miracle. 
He  has  instituted  the  proper  food  for  their  nourish- 
ment and  growth,  and  he  who  would  live  either 
temporally  or  spiritually,  must  use  it  as  he  needs  it. 
You  yourselves  shall  be  the  judges  in  the  case.  You 
certainly  admit  that  it  is  presumptuous  to  hope  for 
salvation  in  any  other  than  in  God's  own  appointed 
way.  And  surely  we-«hall  not  be  considered  illibe- 
ral if  we  reiterate  the  same  sentiment.  It  will  be 
no  unreasonable  statement,  to  say  that  without  the 
precincts  of  God's  visible  Church,  there  can  be  no 
ordinary  possibility  of  salvation,  we  can  clearly  show 
you  that  the  Church  is  itself  the  appointed  means 
of  grace  and  salvation. 

1st.  The  question  is  one  more  of  fact  than  of 
argument.      It  was   typified  in  the  dispensation  of 


HALTING    BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS.      229 

Moses,  which  made  an  external  connexion  with  God's 
Israel  indispensable  to  the  enjoyment  of  those  bless- 
ings and  privileges  connected  with  his  worship.  It 
is  clearly  revealed  in  the  present  economy,  and  his 
command  and  example  and  exhortation  all  enforce 
it.  The  last  commandment  given  by  the  Saviour  to 
his  apostles,  as  he  sent  them  forth  in  his  name,  in- 
cludes withirr  it  this  connexion  with  the  Church. 
They  were  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations  by  bap- 
tism and  by  faith.  So  soon  as  any  professed  their 
faith  in  Christ,  they  were  to  collect  these  together 
and  to  organize  them  into  churches,  by  administering 
that  initiatory  right  which  he  appointed.  Accord- 
ingly you  find  the  apostles,  in  that  first  proof  of  their 
ministry  which  they  made  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
exhorting  the  weeping  and  repenting  multitude  who 
had  been  smitten  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  baptized, 
every  one  of  them,  for  the  remission  of  sins;  in  other 
words,  to  make  public  profession  of  their  faith  and 
repentance  by  receiving  this  ordinance  of  God's 
house. 

And  this  was  the  uniform  language  of  these  early 
inspired  teachers  of  Christianity,  whether  they  pro- 
claimed the  truth  to  Jew  or  Gentile.  "  The  word 
is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart; 
that  is,  the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach ; — that 
if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart  that  God  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved.     For  with 

20 


230       HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS. 

the  heart  man  helieveth  unto  righteousness  ;  and  with 
the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation." 

"  Search  the  scriptures"  for  yourselves,  my  friends. 
Compare  the  command  first  given,  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  apostles  everywhere  executed  it.  Study 
carefully  the  various  epistles  addressed  by  them  to 
the  churches,  and  we  are  sadly  mistaken  if  you  will 
find  anywhere  a  single  intimation  that  Jesus  Christ 
will  confer  salvation  upon  those  who  refuse  to  con- 
nect themselves  with  his  visible  Church. 

Wherever  you  read  of  mercy  sought  or  shown, 
the  subjects  of  it  are  *'no  more  strangers  and  fo- 
reigners, but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints  and  of 
the  household  of  God."  But  perhaps  some  may  be 
ready  to  say,  that  command  refers  to  baptism,  and 
have  we  not  been  baptized  ?  This  may  be  true,  and 
undoubtedly  is,  in  regard  to  a  great  number  of  you. 
Your  believing  parents  may  have  dedicated  you  to 
God  in  this  ordinance,  and  thus  recognised  you  as 
in  the  visible  church. 

But  do  you  not  know,  you  who  have  come  to  years 
of  discretion,  that,  without  faith  in  Him  whose  name 
was  named  upon  you,  you  practically  renounce  your 
baptism  ?  Do  you  not  know  that  unless  you  make  a 
public  profession  by  communicating  with  his  people 
in  that  other  ordinance  he  hath  appointed,  you  be- 
come apostates  from  his  church,  and  thus  not  only 
cut  yourselves  ofi"  from  every  privilege  connected 
with  your  baptism,  but  expose  yourselves  to  the  doom 
of  the  hypocrite  and  the  unbeliever  ? 


HALTING    BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS.      231 

Recollect,  you  that  are  of  age  to  act,  and  have  not 
approved  and  ratified  by  your  own  act,  that  of  your 
parents,  that  you  really  abjure  it.  You  renounce  the 
Trinity  in  whose  name  you  were  baptized ;  your  bap- 
tism becomes  as  no  baptism ;  you  are  no  longer  re- 
garded in  covenant  relation  to  God,  but  are  become 
"  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  a,nd  stran- 
gers from  the  covenants  of  promise,  having  no  hope, 
and  without  God  in  the  world." 

2d.  I  remark  that  the  nature  of  the  gospel  eco- 
nomy, and  the  terms  in  which  it  is  everywhere 
described,  point  to  the  Church  of  God  as  the  great 
means  of  salvation.  You  may  recognise  it  every- 
where in  those  strong  and  expressive  figures,  by  which 
the  Saviour  and  his  apostles  delineate  the  character 
and  relations  of  those  whose  faith  has  laid  hold  of 
his  atoning  merit.  He  tells  us  that  he  came  to  esta- 
blish a  kingdom  of  righteousness  and  peace,  and  in 
every  willing  subject  of  that  kingdom,  you  recognise 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  God.  That  kingdom  is 
made  up  of  individuals,  united  in  a  corporate  capacity, 
bound  by  common  laws,  and  blessed  with  common 
rights.  And  where  will  you  find  that  kingdom,  out 
of  the  visible  church? 

What  is  that  body  of  which  every  believer  is  a 
living  member,  which  is  united  to  a  living  head,  and 
partakes  of  its  vital  influence,  but  the  church  which 
Jesus  bought  with  his  blood  ?  What  is  that  mighty 
temple  erecting  in  the  world,  of  which  saints  are 
lively  stones,  and  Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  corner- 


232      HALTING    BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS. 

stone,  but  that  church  which  is  "  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth  ?"  What  is  that  blessed  house-' 
hold  of  which  Jesus  is  the  elder  brother,  and  God 
the  great  and  everlasting  Father,  but  the  church 
which  has  been  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Son  of 
God  ?  Who  are  those  living  branches  that  are  con- 
nected with  the  living  vine,  and  derive  their  growth 
and  nourishment  from  its  rich  and  all-pervading  juices, 
but  the  members  of  that  church  which  Christ  esta- 
blished, and  who,  blessed  with  the  ordinances  and 
means  of  grace  that  he  has  appointed,  "grow  in 
grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ."  Thus,  in  almost  every  figure  by  which 
the  duties  or  the  blessings  of  believers  are  repre- 
sented, are  they  considered,  not  as  individuals,  but 
in  that  social  organization  which  gives  them  common 
rights  with  one  another,  and  common  privileges  with 
their  head  and  Saviour.  It  is  true  that  many  of 
those  figures  refer  not  so  much  to  the  visible  as  to 
the  invisible  and  spiritual  church  of  God,  yet  the  one 
is  ordinarily  the  gateway  to  the  other.  The  visible 
church  is  the  storehouse  from  which  the  true  believer 
receives  his  food,  its  ordinances  are  the  armory  from 
which  he  draws  his  well-tempered  weapons  of  defence. 
And  though  God,  under  peculiar  covenants,  may 
have  received  into  his  invisible  church,  and  saved 
some  who  were  never  outwardly  connected  with  his 
people  on  earth,  yet  this  is  not  the  rule  but  the  ex- 
ception. Nor  do  we  set  bounds  to  his  power  and 
grace  when  we  confine  the  means  of  salvation  within 


HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS.      233 

the  limits  he  has  ordained.  He  may  nourish  the 
souls  of  his  servants  as  he  did  the  body  of  Elijah  by 
miracle,  when  his  providence  has  placed  them  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  ordinary  supply  ;  but,  generally,  he 
efifects  not  by  supernatural  agency  that  which  can  be 
accomplished  by  secondary  causes  and  instrumentali- 
ties. It  is  in  his  house  that  you  are  to  find  that 
provision  which  suits  your  starving  souls.  It  is  in 
his  house  that  he  fills  his  poor  with  bread,  and  they 
who  remain  without  must  necessarily,  unless  supplied 
by  miracle,  perish  with  hunger. 

3d.  I  remark  that  in  the  promises  of  the  world's 
salvation,  those  mighty  multitudes  that  are  to  be 
detached  from  Satan's  ranks,  are  all  to  swell  the 
triumphs  of  the  Church.  Look  at  the  promises  and 
predictions  of  a  race  regenerated  and  redeemed,  as 
you  meet  them  on  almost  every  page  of  the  blessed 
Bible.  Is  not  that  joyous  event,  when  all  the  nations 
shall  renounce  their  idols,  and  the  princes  and  the 
\dn<fs  of  the  earth  shall  brins;  their  honors  and  their 
crowns,  and  lay  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  predicted 
in  connexion  with  a  glorious  and  universal  church  ? 
Shall  not  they,  who,  under  the  SAveetly  constraining 
influence  of  grace,  leave  the  temples  of  idols  and  the 
tables  of  devils  to  glory  in  the  cross,  go  to  the  en- 
largement of  this  one  church,  and  be  embraced  in 
this  one  kingdom  of  God's  Messiah  ? 

To  whom  shall  the  nations  come  bending  with 
their  tribute  but  to  the  Zion  of  God?  To  whose 
light  shall  the  Gentiles  come,  and  to  the  brightness 
20* 


234      HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO    OPINIONS. 

of  whose  rising  shall  the  great  kings  of  the  nations 
gather  ?  To  whom  is  that  promise  made,  Thou  shalt 
bring  thy  sons  from  afar,  and  thy  daughters  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth  ?  To  whom  shall  the  gold  and 
incense  of  India  be  brought,  or  the  flocks  of  Kedar 
and  the  rams  of  Nebaioth  minister,  but  to  that  church 
whose  gates  are  continually  open, — that  afflicted  and 
tempest-tossed  church,  whose  walls  are  salvation  and 
whose  gates  praise  ? 

Is  not  that  church  whose  privileges  and  blessings 
were  ratified  to  Abraham  and  to  his  seed  by  circumci- 
sion, the  only  true  church  of  God  on  earth  ?  Into  that 
church  professing  Gentiles  in  every  age  have  been 
admitted,  and  to  it  is  the  poor,  wandering,  proscribed 
Jew,  who  has  been  cast  off  for  unbelief,  again  to  bo 
restored,  and  to  be  brought  in  with  "  the  fulness  of 
the  Gentiles."  How  shall  the  aliens  and  the  out- 
casts from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, — those  who 
have  thrown  themselves  out  upon  God's  uncovenanted 
mercies,  be  restored,  if  not  by  a  believing  reception 
of  those  external  seals,  which  will  again  place  the 
wanderers  within  the  fold,  and  make  them  sharers  in 
all  the  rights  and  immunities  which  belong  to  God's 
believing  Israel? 

Thus  it  has  ever  been  in  every  w'ork  of  grace 
carried  on  in  the  world.  The  spirit  was  poured  out 
upon  the  day  of  Pentecost,  that  the  Lord  might  add 
to  "  the  Church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved."  And 
if  salvation  w^as  commonly  administered  in  any  other 
way,  it  would  falsify  the  predictions  of  Scripture,  and 


HALTING    BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS.      235 

make  all  the  declared  purposes  and  plans  of  God  of 
none  effect. 

I  have  said  it  was  a  question  of  fact  rather  than 
of  argument.  And,  surely,  if  we  have  the  least 
anxiety  to  prepare  our  souls  for  a  happy  destination, 
such  an  array  of  facts  as  these,  meeting  us  on  every 
page  of  the  Bible,  and  growing  into  clearer  light 
with  every  new  development  of  the  Church's  history, 
should  lead  to  a  prompt  and  right  decision.  "  If  the 
Lord  be  God,  follow  him."  If  salvation,  and  that 
soul's  salvation  whose  price  outweighs  all  worlds,  is 
only  to  be  secured  by  an  open  union  and  fellowship 
with  God's  believing  people,  why,  in  the  name  of  all 
that  is  solemn,  serious  in  time  and  eternity,  should 
we  hesitate  for  a  single  moment?  Difficulties  may 
lie  in  your  way,  but  these  difficulties  will  grow  in 
magnitude  as  you  procrastinate.  The  spirit  that  is 
now  balancing  between  heaven  and  hell,  weighed 
down  by  carnal  lusts  and  worldly  pleasures,  will 
eventually  settle  down  on  that  side,  where,  if  Mes- 
siah's mercy  reach  you,  it  will  be  a  "miracle  of 
grace." 

I  shall  not  stop  to  inquire  the  causes  of  this  inde- 
cision on  your  part.  Their  name  is  "  legion."  Satan 
and  the  sinful  heart  have  a  thousand  artifices  by 
which  they  deceive  even  awakened  sinners,  and  lead 
them  to  waste  out  life  and  hope  in  ineffective  vacilla- 
tion. Yet  whatever  be  the  immediate  cause,  whether 
educational  influences  or  the  fears  of  conscience, 
attachment  to  the  world  or  dread  of  its  sneers,  the 


236      HALTING     BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS. 

indecision,  if  persevered  in,  must  eventually  prove 
fatal. 

We  deceive  ourselves  if  we  imagine  that  such  inde- 
cision places  us  upon  neutral  ground,  from  which  we 
may  make  our  election  of  Christ  or  the  world.  Strictly 
speaking,  there  can  be  no  neutrality  in  religion,  no 
time  in  which  we  are  not  identified  either  with  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  or  with  the  kingdom  of  Satan, 
and  we  give  you  the  highest  authority  for  the  truth 
of  what  we  say,  when  we  quote  the  language  of 
God's  great  prophet :  "■  He  that  is  not  with  me  is 
against  me,  and  he  that  gathereth  not  wdth  me  scat- 
tereth  abroad." 

And  if  this  be  not  suflScient  to  bring  the  question 
to  an  issue,  I  may  add  other  motives  and  arguments 
to  those  already  adduced.  Salvation  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  Church  for  good  and  various  reasons, 
and  time  would  fail  me  to  present  them  all  before 
you.  This  arrangement,  however,  is  founded  on  the 
social  principles  of  our  nature.  God  never  intended 
man  to  be  alone.  He  implanted  that  s^ial  feeling 
in  our  heart  which  instinctively  draws  *^us  together 
into  life's  varied  relations,  and  makes  our  own  indi- 
vidual life  a  mere  link  in  the  common  life  of  the 
world,  and  by  all  the  various  operations  of  this  social 
law,  we  are  led  and  moulded,  and  either  injured  or 
benefited.  And  if  God  has  created  us  with  that 
relative  dependency  which  makes  our  union  in  fami- 
lies, and  states,  and  nations,  necessary  to  our  temporal 
well-being  and  essential  to  the  perfection  of  art,  and 


HALTING     BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS.      237 

the  growth  and  cultivation  of  the  human  mind  in  its 
present  state,  he  certainly  will  not  command  us  to 
violate  the  instincts  of  our  common  nature,  when  he 
calls  us  to  consider  the  relation  that  we  sustain  to 
him,  and  the  duties  which  grow  out  of  that  relation. 
Must  we  cease  to  be  human  in  order  to  be  saved,  or 
must  we  lose  all  those  social  feelings  which  link  us 
to  all  the  sweet  charities  of  life  ?  No,  my  friends, 
God  acts  not  thus  inconsistently  with  himself,  nor 
would  he  make  us  act  inconsistently  with  our  nature. 

And  hence  it  is  only  in  his  Church  that  you  find 
the  social  principle  perfected.  It  is  the  last  grand 
development  of  that  system  of  mutual  relations  and 
dependencies  which  began  in  Eden,  when  God  said, 
"It  is  not  good  that  the  man  should  be  alone ;"  and 
wdien  he  formed  from  his  side  and  near  his  heart  one 
who  was  to  bear  with  him  his  sorrows,  and  share 
with  him  his  joys. 

And  hence  as  the  life  and  comfort  of  man  here  is 
bound  up  with  that  of  the  world,  so  is  the  life,  the 
profession  of  the  Christian  bound  up  by  an  indisso- 
luble bond  with  the  Church  of  God.  No  regulation 
aifords  such  means  for  man  to  influence  man  in  the 
great  things  of  religion,  as  in  binding  them  together 
in  one  great  association,  as  in  giving  them  a  common 
platform  to  stand  upon,  a  common  cause  to  defend, 
a  common  hope  to  cheer,  and  a  common  destiny  to 
identify. 

Whilst  the  Bible  regards  man  as  an  individual, 
and  makes  personal  salvation  a  personal  concern,  it 


238      HALTING    BETWEEN    TWO    OPINIONS. 

is  not  as  an  isolated  being  shut  out  from  all  the  world 
by  insuperable  barriers,  but  as  one  possessed  of  a 
social  nature,  and  bound  by  the  instincts  and  feelings 
of  a  common  humanity  to  the  race  of  which  he  is  a 
member.  On  this  social  law  is  our  salvation  pre- 
dicated, and  in  every  step  that  leads  to  it,  are  we 
either  retarded  or  advanced  by  the  relative  position 
which  we  sustain  to  others. 

For  this  law  God  has  ever  had  a  strict  regard. 
Search  the  scriptures,  and  you  will  find  that  in  every 
covenant  made  with  man,  from  that  of  Eden  to  that 
of  Calvary,  God  had  respect  to  man's  social  relations, 
and  treated  him  as  but  a  part  of  one  whole  system, 
with  whose  condition  he  was  identified.  And  if  he 
has  always  dispensed  blessings  in  accordance  with 
that  law,  think  you  that  he  will  permit  you  to  disre- 
gard it  ?  Or  that  he  will  suspend  its  operation,  in 
order  to  elevate  you  to  the  heaven  of  his  glory  ?  You 
know  how  stable  are  all  the  laws  which  govern  nature, 
and  with  what  unerring  certainty  you  can  predict  at 
dark  the  returning  dawn,  or  at  seedtime  the  appointed 
weeks  of  harvest. 

So  fixed,  so  inviolable,  are  those  laws,  that  a  single 
invasion  of  them  is  regarded  as  a  miracle,  and  be- 
comes a  wonder  of  nature;  so  fixed,  so  inviolable, 
that  you  can  scarcely  believe  that  when  Moses 
stretched  his  rod  across  the  waters  of  the  sea,  they 
divided  and  stood  on  either  hand,  though  it  was  to 
secure  deliverance  for  all  God's  Israel ;  so  fixed,  so 
inviolable,  that  when  you   read  the  record   of  the 


HALTING    BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS.      239 

Saviour's  mighty  works,  your  faith  almost  staggers, 
though  they  were  done  to  attest  his  gracious  mission 
to  the  world.  And  yet  you,  who  think  it  strange 
that  one  law  should  be  suspended,  though  to  effect  the 
deliverance  of  myriads  of  God's  chosen  people,  will 
plead  for  the  suspension  of  a  law  with  whose  opera- 
tion is  interwoven  the  destinies  of  a  world ;  and  you 
will  plead  for  it,  not  for  the  advantage  of  those  who 
yield  implicit  obedience  to  God's  authority,  but  for 
the  advantage  of  those  who  desire  its  destruction, 
simply  because  they  will  not  obey  him  and  seek  sal- 
vation in  his  own  appointed  way.  This  were  indeed 
a  miracle  greater  than  that  which  accomplished 
Israel's  deliverance  from  Egypt. 

Sooner  would  I  believe  yon  sun  would  stand  still 
upon  the  mountain's  brow,  until  the  idler,  who  had 
wasted  his  hours  in  bed,  would  finish  his  neglected 
task,  or  fulfil  the  appointed  labors  of  the  day.  No ! 
let  God  be  true,  though  all  men  should  be  confounded. 
He  has  committed  every  ordinance  of  salvation  to  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  if  you  would  secure  its 
blessings,  you  must  place  yourself  under  the  opera- 
tion of  its  fixed  and  social  laws.  He  has  organized 
his  kingdom  on  a  principle  that  leaves  no  excuse  for 
those  who  refuse  to  enter  it,  and  to  obey  its  ordi- 
nances. And  he  bids  you  quit  for  ever  the  ranks  of 
the  rebellious,  to  range  yourselves  under  the  govern- 
ment of  God,  and  to  do  it  openly.  If  you  refuse, 
you  still  stand  marshalled  under  the  banner  of  his 
enemy  ;  and,  led  and  moulded  by  the  same  social  law, 


240      HALTING     BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS. 

are  urging  on  yourselves  to  the  door  prepared  for 
Satan  and  his  angels. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  kingdom  and  the  Church 
of  God  are  coextensive.  The  willing  subjects  of  the 
one,  must  be  the  professed  members  of  the  other. 
And  it  is  clear  that  if  he  is  consistent,  he  can  never 
acknowledge  as  subjects  of  the  one,  any  who  refuse 
obedience  to  that  law  which  binds  them  to  confess 
with  the  mouth,  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  well  as  to  believe 
on  him  with  the  heart. 

These  are  the  terms  upon  which  he  offers  you  sal- 
vation, and  you  cannot  quarrel  with  me  if,  as  his 
ambassador,  I  say  you  trifle  with  your  peace  when 
you  reject  them.  He  will  not  abrogate  the  laws  of 
social  nature,  or  check  the  moral  movements  of  the 
world  from  their  right  course,  to  save  even  you. 
Salvation  is  of  the  Church,  and  God  invites  you  to 
the  fellowship  of  that  Church,  and  he  pledges  his  own 
glory,  that  if  you  come  to  him  sincerely  in  the  way 
he  bids  you,  and  enter  upon  that  course  of  disci- 
pline which  he  has  ordained,  you  shall  be  embraced 
in  the  destinies  of  that  Church,  and  be  a  sharer  in 
the  final  triumph  of  its  great  King  and  Saviour.  If 
you  do  not  like  the  terms,  go  try  your  own  experi- 
ments ;  seek  some  other  way  of  salvation,  and  let 
Messiah's  justice  be  vindicated  in  that  day,  when, 
upon  his  judgment  throne,  he  shall  verify  that  solemn 
declaration  which  he  made  on  earth,  "Whosoever 
shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 


HALTING     BETWEEN*TWO     OPINIONS.      241 

And  now,  why  "  halt  ye  between  two  opinions  ?  If 
the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him."  If  salvation  is  pre- 
dicated of  the  Church,  why  hesitate  a  moment  to 
^enter  its  sacred  pale  ?  "  To-day,  if  you  will  hear  his 
voice,  harden  not  your  hearts."  Think  of  "  the  glory 
which  shall  be  revealed  in  you,"  if  you  acquiesce  in 
Messiah's  plan  of  salvation ;  and  think,  too,  of  that 
dreadful  alternative  that  awaits  you  if  you  refuse. 

I  trust  that  with  most  of  you,  I  stand  high  above 
the  imputation  of  a  mere  proselyting  spirit,  in  thus 
urging  upon  you  a  question  of  so  much  importance. 
For  me,  it  is  enough,  whatever  other  results  may 
follow,  if  you  will  but  listen  to  the  voice  of  wisdom, 
and  secure  the  end  in  view.  It  is  the  sum  of  my 
ambition  to  see  you  all  the  sincere  and  faithful  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  Christ,  and  safely  lodged  within  the 
bosom  of  that  ark  which  has  already  rode  out  the 
fierce  tempests  of  the  past,  and  which  shall  move 
along  most  gallantly,  until  it  has  accomplished  its 
destiny,  and  landed  its  precious  freight  at  the  por- 
tals of  high  heaven.  Let  me  but  see  and  know  this, 
and  I  shall  be  content.  Let  me  but  see  that  salva- 
tion has  blessed  the  people  of  my  charge, — that  those, 
over  whom  God  hath  placed  me,  are  found  denying 
themselves,  and  taking  up  their  crosses  daily,  and 
following  Christ ;  like  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth  of  old, 
"walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances 
of  the  Lord,  blameless,"  with  a  "good  hope  through 
grace"  of  a  blissful  immortality,  and  "  my  heart  shall 
rejoice,  even  mine;"  for  then  shall  God  be  glorified, 

21 


242      HALTING     BETWEEN    TWO     OPINIONS. 

and  we  shall  for  ever  share  together  "  the  things" 
which  "  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man;"  but  "which 
God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him." 

If  any  of  you,  however,  -will  not  decide  to  follow 
the  Lord, — will  refuse  to  confess  Christ  before  the 
world,  and  go  down  to  the  grave  without  an  interest 
in  his  blood,  your  condition  will  be  a  lamentable  one 
indeed.  You  must  be  filled  with  utter  dismay  amid 
the  events  which  are  coming  upon  the  universe,  and 
which  are  connected  with  your  final  destiny ;  events, 
the  greatness  of  which  nothing  finite  can  measure, 
and  such  as  will  cause  all  that  is  momentous  in  the 
annals  of  the  world  to  sink  into  insignificance.  When 
the  graves  open,  and  the  sea  gives  up  its  dead,  that 
voice  that  is  now  wooing  you  in  accents  of  mercy  will 
call  you  from  the  grave.  And  willing  or  unwilling, 
you  must  stand  in  the  presence  of  your  Judge, — a 
Judge  before  whom  the  pillars  of  heaven  tremble, 
a  Judge,  once  long-sufi*ering  and  compassionate,  but 
now  come  to  take  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God,  and  obey  not  his  gospel. 

Do  you  hope,  then,  to  come  forth  erect  and  coura- 
geous to  brave  the  terrors  of  this  Judge  ?  And  where 
will  you  look  for  protection,  when  the  stars  are  falling, 
when  the  heavens  are  rolling  together,  and  when  the 
world  is  in  flames?  When  holy  men  and  angels  aban- 
don you,  and  when  the  great  Mediator  leaves  you  to 
your  fate  ?  Are  you  willing  to  be  speechless  with 
guilt?    To  be  stigmatized  with  infamy?    To  endure 


HALTING    BETWEEN     TWO     OPINIONS.      243 

the  frowns  of  God's  wrath,  and  the  insults  of  accursed 
spirits  ?  And  are  you  willing  that  the  violated  laws 
of  Jehovah  shall  be  fully  executed  upon  you?  Surely 
not.  Oh,  then  I  warn  you  "  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come."  I  beseech  you  to  halt  no  longer  "  between 
two  opinions."  I  urge  you  to  fly  without  delay,  to 
the  shelter  of  the  Saviour's  blood.  Remember  that 
you  have  been  called  this  day  to  choose  between  life 
and  death  ;  Christ  and  the  world  ;  heaven  and  hell ; 
and  if  you  refuse  the  good,  and  choose  the  evil,  be 
assured  that  death  will  be  to  you  the  king  of  terrors  ; 
that  the  resurrection  will  be  no  privilege  to  you ; 
that  the  judgment  day  will  exalt  you  to  no  honor ; 
and  that  immortality  will  be  your  bitterest  curse. 
But  0,  rather  would  I  save,  not  only  my  own  soul, 
but  the  souls  of  all  that  hear  me. 


Lord,  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine, 
Purchased  and  saved  by  blood  divine  ; 
With  full  consent,  thine  would  I  be, 
And  own  thy  sovereign  right  in  me. 

Grant  one  poor  sinner  more  a  place 
Among  the  children  of  thy  grace  ; 
A  wretched  sinner,  lost  to  God, 
But  ransomed  by  Immanuel's  blood. 

Thine  would  I  live,  thine  would  I  die  ; 
Be  thine  through  all  eternity  : 
The  vow  is  past  beyond  repeal ; 
Now  will  I  set  the  solemn  seal. 


244  DELAYS     ARE     DANGEROUS. 

Here  at  tliat  cross  where  flows  the  blood 
That  bought  my  guilty  soul  for  God, 
Thee,  my  new  Master,  now  I  call, 
And  consecrate  to  thee  my  all. 

Do  thou  assist  a  feeble  worm 
The  great  engagement  to  perform  ; 
Thy  grace  can  full  assistance  lend, 
And  on  that  grace  I  dare  depend. 


SERMON  IV. 


DELAYS   ARE    DANGEROUS. 


*'  To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  heart." — 
Psalm  xcv.  7. 

There  is  nothing  more  common,  nor  yet  more  dan- 
gerous, than  neglect  of  the  soul.  Men  are  indiffe- 
rent, where  they  should  be  all  attention ;  they  pro- 
crastinate, when  their  immediate  and  most  vigilant 
activity  is  required.  Momentous  as  are  the  interests 
of  their  immortal  being,  they  postpone  them  until 
they  have  satisfied  their  desires  after  earthly  ob- 
jects. 

Like  the  Israelites,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in 
the  battle  of  Aphek,  they  are  "busy  here  and  there, 
and  the  charge  committed  to  their  care  is  nothing 
thought  of;  or  if  conscience  obtrude  its  existence 
upon  them,  they  silence  its  clamors,  and  console  them- 


DELAYS     ARE     DA^NGEROUS.  245 

selves  that  hereafter  when  the  business  and  cares  of 
life  cease  to  press  upon  them,  thej  will  consult  their 
eternal  welfare,  and  secure  their  souls'  salvation. 
Alas  !  how  many  are  trusting  to  such  refuges  of 
lies,  crying,  "  To-morrow,  to-morrow,  will  be  time 
enough;"  until  they  are  suppressed  by  the  march  of 
death,  and  the  day  of  retribution,  with  all  its  dreaded 
terrors,  is  upon  them  unawares. 

So  thought  Felix,  the  Roman  governor,  when  the 
apostle  reasoned  with  him  "  of  righteousness,  tempe- 
rance, and  judgment  to  come."  He  trembled,  and 
answered,  ''  Go  thy  way  for  this  time;  when  I  have 
a  convenient  season,  I  will  call  for  thee ;"  when  I 
have  drunk  of  the  cup  of  guilty  pleasure  until  satiety 
has  come  ;  when  all  the  difficulties  in  my  way  towards 
higher  power  and  honor  are  removed,  I  will  send  for 
thee,  and  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter.  And  this 
quieted  his  conscience ;  he  bade  the  messenger  of 
heaven  depart,  but  he  never  again  returned  to  point 
the  luxurious  lover  of  the  world  to  the  Lamb  of  God. 
Drowned  in  guilty  pleasure,  the  unhappy  victim  of 
procrastination  forgot  the  convictions  of  the  past. 
He  forgot,  in  injustice,  that  righteousness  of  which 
Paul  reasoned ;  he  forgot,  as  he  feasted  to  the  full  in 
the  vapid  and  licentious  pleasures  of  a  sordid  world, 
that  temperance  so  essential  to  health  and  happiness ; 
he  forgot,  in  the  round  of  courtly  amusement,  and  in 
iniquitous  decisions,  as  a  civil  officer,  that  righteous 
bar  before  which  he  himself  was  soon  to  appear. 
Evil  propensities  had  grown  by  continuance ;  the 
21* 


246  DELAYS     AKE    DANGEROUS. 

disease  had  gained  strength  by  neglect ;  the  De- 
lilah he  had  cherished,  had  shorn  him  of  all  his 
strength. 

And  as  Felix  fell,  so  fall  thousands  of  our  race. 
Blinded  by  the  god  of  this  world,  who  reigns  in  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  those  that  believe  not,  they  can- 
not, because  they  will  not  stop  to  consider  the  fallacy 
of  such  reasoning  and  the  fatality  of  such  hopes. 
The  world  is  their  idol,  and  after  that  they  will  go. 
But  whilst  they  grasp  at  the  shadows  that  elude  them, 
and  dream  on,  day  after  day,  of  stopping  to-morrow, 
the  ever-rolling  stream  upon  which  they  have  em- 
barked, is  gliding  onwards  with  them,  and  losing  itself 
in  a  shoreless  ocean. 

Men,  in  their  sins,  judge  of  the  future  by  the  past. 
They  have  gone  thus  far  in  the  path  of  sinful  plea- 
sure, and  escaped.  They  eat,  drink,  and  are  merry, 
and  fancy  that  "to-morrow  shall  be  as  this  day, 
and  much  more  abundant ;"  and  "  because  sentence 
against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  speedily,  there- 
fore the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them 
to  do  evil."  Whilst  they  promise  themselves  that  at 
some  future  day — at  some  indefinite  period — that  may 
come,  they  know  not  when,  they  will  repent  of  all 
this  accumulated  guilt ;  and  exercise  a  faith  in  Christ 
that  shall  remove  its  penalty.  This  soothes  their 
troubled  conscience ;  this  gives  them  a  new  impulse 
on  the  road  to  ruin,  often  unchecked  until  their  feet 
have  stumbled   upon    the   dark  mountains,  and  the 


DELAYS    ARE     DANGEROUS.  247 

shadows  of  eternal  night  have  gathered  upon  their 
souls. 

Thej  would  shudder  at  a  decided  rejection  of  the 
Saviour;  they  would  shudder  to  come  forth  with  the 
impious  Voltaire,  crying,  "  Crush  the  wretch,"  and 
resolve  to  stand  or  fall  w^ith  the  enemies  of  Christ. 
But  surely  they  think,  that  whilst  they  acknowledge 
the  truth  of  the  gospel — the  claims  which  God  has 
upon  them, — and  promise  to  satisfy  them  hereafter, 
they  can,  for  the  present,  enjoy  the  world  without 
fear  of  molestation.  Surely,  God  is  not  so  severe  as 
to  demand  an  immediate  surrender  and  self-denial, 
and  not  allow  them  to  indulge  in  the  pleasures  of  the 
hour. 

All  have  their  excuses.  The  young,  in  the  hope 
of  earthly  happiness.  The  world  is  fresh  before 
them,  and  they  anticipate  delight  in  every  step  that 
they  take.  And  whilst  they  are  not  aware  that  it  is 
throwing  its  toils  around  them,  and  entangling  their 
feet  in  the  net,  they  are  promising  themselves  to 
make  religion  their  study  when  the  vivacity  and 
gaiety  of  youth  shall  have  given  place  to  the  sobriety 
of  manhood,  or  .the  gravity  of  age. 

Those  in  middle  life  have  their  excuses  also.  They 
are  pulling  down  their  barns  and  building  greater ;  they 
are  adding  house  to  house,  and  field  to  field ;  their  own 
and  their  families'  comfort  require  their  present  atten- 
tion ;  and,  hereafter,  when  all  these  various  temporal 
interests  are  secured,  and  the  decline  of  life  is  upon 
them,  they  will  consider  their  destiny,  and  make  pre- 


248  DELAYS    ARE     DANGEROUS. 

paration  for  their  final  departure.  And  even  old  age, 
though  trembling  upon  "the  brink,"  and  soon  "to 
launch  away,"  is  calculating  upon  to-morroiv^  and 
waiting  for  "a  more  convenient  season." 

But  to  all  such,  whatever  be  their  age  or  circum- 
stances, the  admonition  of  my  text  comes  home. 
Unto  you,  0  men,  it  calls ;  and  its  voice  is  unto  the 
sons  of  men.  Boast  not  yourselves  of  to-morrow. 
Deceive  not  yourselves  with  those  delusive  prospects, 
which,  like  the  mirage  of  the  desert,  loom  up  before 
you  with  a  thousand  beauties,  but  which  disappear  as 
you  approach.  But  "to-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice, 
harden  not  your  heart,  as  in  the  provocation,  and  as 
in  the  day  of  temptation  in  the  wilderness." 

The  provocations  and  temptations  to  which  the 
Psalmist  here  refers,  are  those  murmurings  and  rebel- 
lions of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  that  provoked  God  to 
swear  in  his  wrath,  that  not  one  of  all  that  genera- 
tion, excepting  Caleb  and  Joshua,  should  enter  the 
promised  land. 

The  wilderness  is,  however,  a  type  of  our  world, 
and  Canaan  a  type  of  heaven.  And  they  who,  under 
the  gospel,  refuse  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  God,  are 
guilty  of  a  greater  provocation,  and  are,  therefore, 
exposing  themselves  to  the  fearful  maledictions  of 
that  wrath  which  shuts  out  all  admission  to  the  rest 
of  heaven.  "These  things,"  says  an  apostle,  "hap- 
pened unto  them  for  ensamples,  and  they  are  written 
for  our  admonition  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world 
are  come."     They  happened  to  the  intent  that  wc 


DELAYS     ARE     DANGEROUS.  249 

should  "  fear,  lest  a  proraise  being  left  us  of  entering 
into  his  rest,  any  of  you  should  seem  to  come  short 
of  it."  To-day,  then,  if  ye  "will  hear  his  voice,  harden 
not  your  heart. 

The  voice  of  God,  as  used  in  his  word,  may  signify 
the  communications  that  he  is  pleased  to  make  con- 
cerning himself,  and  the  duties  that  he  requires  of 
us.  Hence  we  speak  of  the  voice  of  God  in  creation, 
in  providence,  by  his  Spirit,  and  by  his  word.  It  is, 
especially,  to  the  latter  of  these  that  the  text,  as 
quoted  by  the  apostle  to  the  Hebrews,  refers.  It  is 
the  voice  of  God  in  that  gospel  of  his  grace,  which 
he  has  revealed  for  the  redemption  of  lost  and  ruined 
man.  Of  similar  import  is  the  language  of  the  Sa- 
viour to  the  church  of  Laodicea,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at 
the  door  and  knock.  If  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and 
open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup 
with  him,  and  he  with  me."  It  is  that  glorious  dis- 
covery of  justice  and  mercy  harmonizing  in  the  salva- 
tion of  souls,  which,  in  time  past,  was  spoken  unto 
the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  but  which  hath,  in  these 
last  days,  been  spoken  unto  us  by  God's  own  Son  in 
our  nature,  and  who,  by  the  authority  vested  in  him 
as  king  and  head  of  the  Church,  has  commissioned 
his  servants  to  proclaim  it  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

To  you,  therefore,  has  this  gospel  come,  whilst 
millions  are  destitute  of  it ;  to  you  does  it  promise 
life  and  salvation ;  and  you  does  it  command,  upon 
the  peril  of  your  souls,  to  obey.  Even  now — to-day 
in  this  accepted  time — does  it  command  your  atten- 


250  DELAYS    ARE     DANGEROUS. 

tion,  "  lest  your  hearts  be  hardened  through  the 
deceitfulness  of  sin,  and  your  day  of  grace  for  ever 
close." 

It  admits  of  no  procrastination,  and  to  every  one 
who  is  saying,  "  Soul,  take  thine  ease ;  eat,  drink, 
and  be  merry,"  it  replies,  "  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy 
soul  shall  be  required  of  thee."  To-day  is  the  only 
appropriate  season  for  its  reception ;  the  future  is 
wrapped  in  gloom.  We  are  as  men  walking  in  the 
dark,  whose  next  step  may  be  in  a  snare  or  over  a 
precipice. 

Literally  speaking,  a  day  is  that  period  of  time  in 
which  the  earth  revolves  upon  its  axis  ;  but  it  is  used, 
indefinitely,  to  signify  any  period  of  time  allotted 
to  a  certain  work,  and  beyond  which  it  cannot  be 
performed.  The  Saviour  had  a  work  to  perform  in 
his  day,  and  he  exclaimed,  "  How  am  I  straitened 
until  it  be  accomplished  ?"  The  word  is  also  used 
to  signify  that  period  in  which  God  waits  to  be 
gracious  ;  in  which  he  commands  us  to  repent  and 
believe  the  gospel,  and  beyond  which  his  mercies 
are  clean  gone  for  ever.  Generally  speaking,  that 
period  is  life  ;  and  as  we  hava  no  security  for  its  con- 
tinuance a  single  day,  or  even  a  single  hour,  there 
is  a  peculiar  propriety  in  the  expression,  "  To-day, 
if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  heart." 
Now,  as  in  the  vision  of  the  patriarch,  do  we  behold 
the  heavens  open ;  now  is  there  a  constant  commu- 
nication kept  up  between  heaven  and  your  souls,  in 
the  means  of  grace,  by  the  convictions  of  conscience, 


DELAYS    ARE     DANGEROUS.  251 

and  by  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit.  But  soon  this 
door  will  be  closed,  this  communication  broken  off. 
The  Lamb  will  then  become  a  lion,  and  he  that  is 
filthy  will  be  filthy  still.  When  once  that  door  is 
closed,  all  efforts  to  enter  heaven  will  be  of  no  avail. 
We  may  stand  without  and  knock,  saying,  "  Lord, 
Lord,  open  to  us,"  but  he  shall  answer,  "  I  know 
you  not;  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity." 

Consfder,  then,  the  invaluable  possession  of  the 
day  of  grace.  *'  Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time  ; 
behold,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  Now  God 
waits  to  be  gracious,  and  in  the  offers  of  mercy  which 
you  now  enjoy  in  his  house,  you  have  abundant  evi- 
dence of  the  fact.  And  how  know  we  that  we  shall 
have  such  another  opportunity  to  secure  our  souls' 
salvation  ?  To  us  are  the  fleeting  hours  of  this  Sab- 
bath rapidly  revolving,  and  what  security  have  we 
that  another  Sabbath  shall  find  us  in  the  possession 
of  the  privileges  we  now  enjoy  ?  What  security  that 
we  shall  again  hear  the  offers  of  divine  mercy  which 
we  now  reject  ?  Who  can  look  forward  with  a  seer's 
vision,  and  promise  himself  even  another  week's  in- 
dulgence in  sin  ? 

Oh  !  if  the  mighty  multitude  in  whose  heart  the 
pulse  of  life  beats  warm  to-day,  and  who,  before 
another  Sabbath's  dawn,  are  to  enter  the  shadows  of 
that  dark  vale  from  whence  there  is  no  return,  were 
all  to  be  marshalled  in  one  vast  spectral  army  before 
us,  would  it  not  startle  us  from  our  stupor,  and 
awaken  in  every  one  of  us  a  sense  of  our  imminent 


252  DELAYS     ARE     DANGEROUS. 

danger  ?  And  is  death  less  inevitable,  because  our 
senses  are  not  shocked  with  scenes  such  as  these  ? 
Is  the  danger  less  near,  because  we  do  not  see  it  ? 
Not  a  week  but  six  hundred  thousand  of  the  human 
family  enter  upon  their  eternal  state.  And  what 
security  have  we  that  we  may  not  be  of  the  number 
the  ensuing  week  ?  And  even  admitting  that  our 
life  may  be  prolonged,  still  the  end  of  every  oppor- 
tunity enjoyed  in  the  house  of  God  is  rapidly  ap- 
proaching, and  the  seats  we  now  occupy  will  soon  be 
for  ever  vacated. 

The  Saviour  is  pleading  with  some  in  our  world 
to-day,  for  the  last  time.  How  know  we  that  such 
may  not  be  the  case  with  us  ?  His  Spirit  shall  not 
always  strive  with  man.  He  will  give  up  to  judicial 
blindness  and  hardness  of  heart,  the  soul  that,  despite 
all  his  admonitions  and  entreaties,  continues  in  im- 
penitence and  unbelief,  for  "  he  that,  being  often 
reproved,  hardeneth  his  neck,  shall  suddenly  be  de- 
stroyed, and  that  without  remedy."  Oh,  then,  to- 
day, if  we  will  hear  his  voice,  let  us  not  harden  our 
hearts.  If  there  be  one  conviction  in  our  hearts  of 
our  lost  and  ruined  condition,  let  us  cherish  it.  Let 
not  Satan  pluck  it  out ;  let  not  the  cares  of  this  world 
stifle  it  into  indifference,  lest  God  arise  and  swear  in 
his  wrath,  that  we  "  shall  not  enter  into  his  rest." 

We  know  not  our  danger, — we  know  not  the  bear- 
ing which  the  present  hour  has  upon  our  eternal 
destiny.  There  is  a  line  which,  once  past,  there  is 
no  return  to  hope.     It  is  the  Rubicon  of  the  soul. 


DELAYS    AEE    DANGEROUS.  253 

when  the  die  is  for  ever  cast,  and  the  destiny  of  the 
spirit  sealed  by  a  sentence  that  knows  no  reversal. 
Years  may  intervene  between  the  time  it  is  pronounced 
and  executed,  but  the  man  is  a  doomed  man.  He 
may  not  feel  it,  but  his  very  insensibility  and  reck- 
lessness of  consequences,  his  utter  disregard  for  every- 
thing sacred  and  divine,  is  one  of  the  strongest 
evidences  of  his  fearful  and  unhappy  state.  He  has 
deliberately  trampled  under  foot  the  blood  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  sinned  away  his  day  of  grace,  and  for 
him  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,  "  but 
a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery 
indignation,  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries." 

That  point  every  impenitent  sinner  is  nearing,  for 
every  repeated  act  of  transgression  must  necessarily 
tend  to  harden  the  heart,  to  weaken  every  impression 
of  divine  things,  and  to  produce  in  the  mind  that 
feeling  of  reckless,  daring  impiety,  which  provokes 
the  divine  vengeance,  and  delivers  over  the  seared 
and  callous  transgressor  a  prey  to  the  adversary, 
that  he  may  learn,  as  he  wrings  out  the  bitter  dregs 
of  his  cup  of  sorrow,  not  to  blaspheme.  Woe  be 
upon  them  to  whom  it  is  said,  "  They  are  joined  to 
their  idols  ;  let  them  alone."  "  Oh  !  that  men  were 
wise,  that  they  understood  this,  that  they  would  con- 
sider their  latter  end." 

What  a  subject  for  serious  consideration.  The 
world  may  have  its  important  interests.  God  has 
given  us  faculties  and  senses  adapted  to  its  use  and 
enjoyment,  and  has  placed  all  things  under  our  feet, 

22 


254  DELAYS    ARE    DANGEROUS. 

and  its  riches  and  honors  are  not  to  be  despised  when 
they  are  honestly  obtained,  and  for  a  good  end.  But 
•yvhat  are  the  riches  of  the  world  to  the  riches  of  grace 
and  glory  ?  What  the  highest  honors  it  has  ever 
heaped  upon  its  votaries,  compared  to  the  honor  that 
Cometh  from  God  only  ?  They  sink  into  insignificance, 
they  dwindle,  they  disappear  before  those  mighty  in- 
terests that  cluster  around  the  judgment  throne,  and 
mould,  as  by  the  hand  of  fate,  the  soul's  everlasting 
destiny. 

Oh,  how  unwise,  then,  not  to  secure  those  im- 
perishable riches  and  honors,  when  they  are  offered 
upon  the  authority  of  God,  and  offered,  too,  without 
money  and  without  price.  But  to  how  many  are  all 
these  things  but  as  idle  tales  !  How  many  are  en- 
deavoring to  stifle  their  convictions  of  duty  by  per- 
mitting their  thoughts,  whilst  addressed,  to  wander 
away  from  the  house  of  God,  and  the  solemn  voice 
of  his  word  !  How  many  are  pre-occupying  their 
minds  with  their  business  and  their  pleasures,  lest 
their  fears  should  be  alarmed,  and  their  false  peace 
disturbed ! 

Such,  alas  !  is  the  deceitfulness  of  the  human  heart. 
So  many  are  the  sources  of  its  own  self-deception. 
But,  surely,  to  reject  the  Saviour  to-day,  will  not  fit 
us  for  a  reception  of  his  truth  hereafter ;  nor  will 
hardening  our  hearts  against  his  fear  to-day,  make 
them  softer  to-morrow.  The  Bible  makes  no  mention 
of  a  future  day  of  grace.     Its  uniform  language  is  in 


DELAYS    ARE    DANGEROUS.  255 

accordance  with  the  text,  ''  To-day,  if  ye  will  hear 
his  voice,  harden  not  your  heart." 

As  every  season  in  life  has  its  appropriate  duties, 
each  one  a  means  of  preparation  for  the  other, — 
youth  for  manhood,  and  manhood  for  old  age, — so  is 
life  a  season  of  preparation  for  eternity,  and  the 
duties  that  are  to  be  performed  to-day  cannot  be 
performed  hereafter.  And  as  life  in  general  is  the 
season  of  preparation  for  eternity,  so  are  there  pecu- 
liar seasons  in  life  when  the  text  comes  home  with 
emphatic  earnestness.  "  To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his 
voice,  harden  not  your  heart." 

Youth  is  one  of  these  seasons  the  most  favorable 
for  seeking  the  one  thing  needful,  and  securing  "that 
good  part  which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  us." 
To  those  of  you  who  are  present,  yet  young,  and 
around  whose  souls  the  world  has  not  yet  thrown  its 
mantle  of  indifiference,  religion  presents  peculiar  in- 
ducements to  make  it  your  study  and  chief  delight. 
"With  you  the  fountain  of  feeling  is  yet  fresh  and 
gushing,  and  the  cold  selfishness  of  the  world  has 
not  seared  your  sensibilities  or  hardened  your  hearts. 
To  you  the  Saviour  calls  to-day.  To-day  gladly  would 
he  gather  you,  ye  lambs  of  the  flock,  into  his  fold, 
and  lead  you  by  the  green  pastures  and  still  waters 
of  eternal  life. 

The  mark  of  the  destroyer  is  not  yet  laid  so 
heavily  upon  you  as  upon  others.  Ye  are  not  yet 
borne  down  by  the  crimes  of  years  or  the  sorrows  of 
age ;  ye  are  yet  susceptible  of  religious  impressions, 


256  DELAYS    ARE    DANGEROUS. 

and  feel  the  force  of  divine  truth.  Why,  then,  per- 
mit these  golden  opportunities  to  pass  unimproved, 
■when  every  fresh  refusal  will  but  confirm  your  habits 
of  sin,  and  destroy  every  relish  for  religious  duties  ? 

They  that  seek  Christ  early  shall  find  him,  but  it 
will  be  easier  for  the  Ethiopian  to  change  his  skin, 
or  the  leopard  his  spots,  than  for  those  to  do  good 
that  have  long  been  accustomed  to  do  evil.  "Re- 
member, then,  your  Creator  in  the  days  of  your 
youth,  while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the  years 
draw  nigh,  when  you  shall  say,  we  have  no  pleasure 
in  them."  Oh  !  if  you  wish  the  memory  of  other 
years  to  be  embittered  by  the  sad  recollection  of 
privileges  slighted,  of  mercies  abused,  and  of  talents 
buried  and  perverted,  go  harden  your  hearts  against 
the  fear  of  God, — go  forget  your  duties  and  your 
accountabilities  in  the  idle  whirl  of  worldly  dissipa- 
tion, or  the  engrossing  cares  of  worldly  business, 
and  your  end  shall  be  accomplished. 

But  the  memory  of  these  slighted  convictions  and 
wasted  hours  shall  hereafter  rise  upon  your  pathway, 
like  some  gloomy  spectres  of  the  pit,  and  fill  the  soul 
with  fearful  forebodings  of  sure  and  coming  wrath. 
But  surely  ye  are  not  desirous  of  adding  new  sorrows 
to  those  which  age  and  care  will  necessarily  bring 
with  them.  Then  let  the  morning  of  your  days  be 
consecrated  to  God,  that  the  evening  of  your  life 
may  be  serene  and  peaceful. 

But  ye  may  not  count  on  long  life.  Death  makes 
no  distinction.     His   unerring   arrows   are  levelled 


DELAYS    ARE     DANGEROUS.  257 

alike  at  the  hearts  of  the  young  and  the  old.  How- 
ever buoyant  your  spirits,  hovfever  healthful  your 
frames,  however  robust  your  muscles,  the  seeds  of 
dissolution  are  sown  in  your  system,  and  are  rapidly 
hastening  to  their  development  in  death.  How  soon 
may  the  bloom,  that  is  now  nestling  in  beauty  upon 
your  cheek,  wither,  and  the  fires  of  health,  that 
sparkle  so  brightly  in  your  eye,  grow  dim  before  the 
touch  of  that  dread  destroyer  to  whom  all  ages  and 
seasons  are  alike,  and  who  knows  no  pity  in  his 
inexorable  heart.  To-day,  then,  ye  children  of  the 
Church,  ye  sons  and  daughters  of  our  Father's  house, 
listen  to  the  solemn  admonition  of  the  text,  and  harden 
not  your  hearts. 

Again  I  remark,  that  when  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
fastening  his  convictions  upon  our  consciences,  is  a 
day  of  grace,  in  which  it  is  awfully  dangerous  to 
harden  our  hearts.  There  is  no  man  in  a  Christian 
land  possessed  of  a  conscience  that  has  not  felt  its 
convictions,  and  trembled  under  its  power. 

How  often  in  the  hour  of  affliction,  or  under  the 
pungent  ministrations  of  God's  word,  does  the  thought 
force  itself  upon  us,  that  the  great  things  of  religion 
are  true,  and  demand  our  immediate  and  earnest 
attention?  How  often,  at  such  times,  has  our  guilt 
arisen  in  all  its  enormity,  and  judgment  stared  us  in 
the  face,  and  for  awhile  no  eifort  could  shake  off  these 
convictions  from  our  hearts,  or  bring  back  our  wonted 
indifference  ? 

We  plunged  anew  into  the  business  and  pleasures 
22* 


258  DELAYS    ARE     DANGEROUS. 

of  the  world,  determined,  if  possible,  to  banish  our 
religious  impressions  by  pre-occupying  the  mind  with 
other  things.  But  still  the  spectre  conscience  fol- 
lowed us,  haunted  every  path  that  we  took,  shouted 
its  cry  of  guilt  into  our  ear,  and  pointed  with  its 
significant  finger  to  the  retributions  of  eternity,  and 
it  was  not,  until  after  long  and  desperate  effort,  that 
we  could  bid  the  phantom  begone,  and  sink  back  into 
our  former  stupidity  and  insignificance. 

That  troublesome  guest  was  sent  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  on  a  message  of  mercy  to  your  soul.  You  should 
have  cherished  his  convictions,  listened  to  his  admo- 
nitions, and  profited  by  his  instructions.  But  you 
have  yielded  to  Satan  and  the  world,  banished  the 
monitor  from  your  heart,  and  the  consequence  is, 
that  the  Spirit  is  grieved,  and  ye  are  nearer  eternity 
with  hearts  more  hardened,  and  consciences  more 
seared  than  ever  they  were  before. 

Let  no  one  trifle  with  religious  impressions  ;  let  no 
one  labor  to  banish  spiritual  convictions.  This  is  to 
pronounce  our  own  sentence,  and  fix  the  seal  of  hea- 
ven to  our  everlasting  doom. 

Again,  the  Sabbath  is  a  precious  season  of  grace. 
It  was  given  us  to  turn  aside  from  the  world  ;  to  con- 
sider our  relations,  and  our  destiny  ;  and  to  make 
preparation  for  it.  God  has  blessed  it  with  ordi- 
nances to  teach  us  what  he  is,  and  what  duties  he 
requires  of  us.  He  has  opened  wide  the  doors  of  his 
sanctuary  and  bid  us  enter,  in  order  that  we  may 
feed  our  starving  souls  upon  the  rich  provisions  of  his 


DELAYS     ARE     DANGEROUS.  259 

house.  But  by  how  many  is  this  precious  season 
abused  !  How  many,  who,  instead  of  spending  it  in 
his  worship,  turn  their  feet  from  his  house,  and  refrain 
not  themselves  from  "the  counsel  of  the  ungodly;" 
nor  from  "the  way  of  sinners"  nor  from  "the  seat 
of  the  scornful." 

And  thus  they  slight  one  of  his  plainest  command- 
ments, trifle  with  his  sacred  ordinances,  and  bring 
upon  their  souls  that  curse  which  shuts  them  out  from 
the  rest  above.  Or  if  they  do  enter  his  gates,  how 
many,  instead  of  worshipping  Him,  who  "  is  a  Spirit," 
"in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  pass  the  hours  that  should 
be  devoted  to  his  service  in  unreasonable  slumbers, 
or  permit  their  thoughts  to  wander  with  the  fool's 
eyes  to  the  end  of  the  earth. 

Oh,  how  fearful  the  account  to  be  rendered  by 
these  despisers  of  his  grace  in  that  day,  when  God 
shall  rise  to  deal  with  them  in  his  wrath,  to  avenge 
the  insult  cast  upon  his  ordinances,  and  to  vindicate 
the  integrity  of  his  government,  and  the  majesty  of 
his  throne.  "  Them  that  honor  me,"  saith  the  Lord, 
"  I  will  honor,  and  they  that  despise  me  shall  be 
lightly  esteemed."  Be  wise,  then,  ye  who  enjoy 
your  Sabbaths,  and  improve,  whilst  they  last,  these 
precious  seasons  of  grace.  Remember  there  are  no 
Sabbath  bells  calling  to  the  house  of  prayer  in  per- 
dition, no  soft  hearts  there,  no  flowing  tears  of  peni- 
tence, no  proud,  stubborn  wills  subdued,  no  gospel 
entreaties,  no  Saviour  ofi'ered,  no  Spirit  promised,  no 
hope,  no  mercy. 


260  DELAYS    ARE    DANGEROUS. 

But,  lastl}^,  consider  what  it  is  to  harden  our  hearts. 
It  is  to  reject  the  gospel,  until  our  habits  of  sin  be- 
come confirmed  to  such  a  degree  that  we  cease  to 
feel  its  force.  We  all  know  that  the  harder  a  metal, 
or  a  material  substance  is,  the  less  aifected  it  is  by 
any  mechanical  force  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  And 
the  metal  of  the  human  heart  is,  so  to  speak,  under 
the  same  natural  law.  If  the  force  you  bring  to  bear 
upon  it  does  not  bend  it,  or  break  it,  it  will  consoli- 
date it  and  beat  it  to  hardness.  If  the  moral  argu- 
ment, that  is  plied  to-day,  does  not  overcome  our 
purposes,  then  to-morrow  will  it  strike  with  less  force, 
and  make  a  less  impression.  If  w^e  resist,  and  stand 
out  against  the  offers  of  the  gospel  to-day,  then,  by 
that  act  of  resistance,  do  we  gain  a  greater  power  of 
resistance,  and  though,  hereafter,  the  same  spiritual 
thunder  may  play  around  our  hearts,  their  sensibili- 
ties may  have  become  so  callous  and  blunted,  that 
it  may  not  awaken  the  least  emotion.  In  fine,  to 
harden  our  hearts,  is  to  resist  the  gospel,  until  the 
most  forcible  arguments,  the  most  spirit  stirring  ap- 
peals, have  no  more  effect  upon  us,  than  upon  an 
Arctic  iceberg,  or  a  rock  of  adamant.  And  when 
such  is  the  case,  hope  of  recovery  is  but  faint  indeed. 
And  does  it  not  become  us  all  to  inquire  how  near 
we  are  to  this  state  of  hardness  that  feels  no  force  ? 
For  years  we  may  have  been  sitting  under  the  sound 
of  the  gospel,  but  are  yet  entangled  in  the  yoke  of 
bondage ;  and  the  prospect  of  our  being  delivered 
eventually,  and  snatched  as  brands  from  the  burning, 


DELAYS    ARE    DANGEROUS.  261 

is  becoming  less  certain  each  succeeding  Sabbath  ; 
for  our  habits  of  impenitence  are  confirming,  and  the 
fire  that  melts  the  wax  hardens  the  clay. 

Once  we  may  have  trembled  at  the  voice  of  God, 
but  we  have  permitted  the  precious  opportunity  to 
pass  unimproved ;  and  our  anxieties  and  religious 
impressions  have  departed  with  it.  If  our  houses 
were  on  fire,  if  our  persons  or  our  property  were  ex- 
posed to  the  fury  of  the  fierce  devouring  element,  we 
would  be  awake  and  alive  to  everything  about  us ; 
and  yet,  when  our  immortal  spirits  are  separated  only 
by  this  thin  partition  of  flesh  and  blood,  that  may  be 
taken  down  in  a  moment,  from  '^  the  lake  which 
burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone,"  we  are  insensible 
to  our  danger,  and  postpone  to  some  future  season, 
the  efi'orts  that  should  be  made  vigorously  and  at 
once. 

Is  not  this  a  fearful  evidence  that  our  hearts  are 
hardening,  and  that  the  moral  force  which  is  spent 
upon  them'is  beginning  to  lose  its  etfect?  If  we  are 
now  less  under  the  influence  of  divine  truth,  than  we 
were  years,  or  even  months  ago,  are  not  our  habits 
of  sin  confirming  ?  And  upon  what  principle  of  phi- 
losophy, natural  or  moral,  is  a  rapidly  confirming 
habit  broken  off*  by  a  repetition  of  those  acts  that  pro- 
duce confirmation  ? 

When  will  the  difficulties  in  our  way  to  salvation 
be  less  great  than  they  are  now  ?  When  will  more 
favorable  circumstances  come  around  us  than  we  at 
present  enjoy  ?      Would   we  plant  a  tree  that  we 


262  DELAYS    AEE    DANGEROUS. 

wished  to  grow  tall  and  straight,  and  yet  permit  it  to 
pass  from  the  twig  to  the  branching  oak,  before  we 
corrected  its  curvatures,  or  pruned  its  luxuriance  ? 
We  are  infected  with  a  dangerous  disease,  that  is 
working  its  way  to  our  vitals,  and  threatening  our 
final  dissolution;  and  yet  we  refuse  to  call  the  phy- 
sician's aid.  Do  we  suppose  the  ragings  of  the  con- 
suming fever  to  be  more  under  the  power  of  medicine, 
than  the  first  faint  symptoms  of  its  attack?  And 
shall  we  bind  ourselves  with  cords  of  vanity,  and 
permit  habits  of  sin  to  strengthen  by  repeated  in- 
dulgence, and  then  hope  to  burst  them  asunder  as 
Samson  did  the  green  withes  wherewith  he  was  bound? 
Shall  the  infant  advance  daily  by  appropriate  food 
and  care,  from  infancy  to  manhood;  and  shall  our 
depravity  not  grow  with  our  growth,  and  strengthen 
with  our  strength,  so  long  as  we  refuse  to  "  cease 
to  do  evil,  and  learn  to  do  well  ?" 

Delusions  such  as  these,  the  human  heart  loves  to 
cherish ;  but  they  are  delusions  that  terminate  in  ''  the 
second  death."  As  before  remarked,  there  is  a  point 
of  sinful  indulgence,  even  in  this  world,  beyond  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  may  cease  to  strive ;  and  men  in 
their  madness,  like  Esau,  may  sell  their  birthright 
for  a  mess  of  pottage.  May  I  not  say  that  men  can 
wilfully  reject  the  gospel,  until  God  withdraws  his 
gracious  influences  from  them  ?  And  who  may  tell 
the  consequences  of  that  withdrawal  ?  AVho  can  fully 
comprehend  what  is  embodied  in  that  fearful  lan- 
guage of  God  to  rebellious  Israel,  "  Ephraim  is  joined 


DELAYS    ARE    DANGEROUS.  263 

to  his  idols  :  let  him  alone?"  Who  can  tell  ^vhat  it  is 
for  a  sinner  to  be  let  alone  of  God? 

Providence  of  God  I  sent  for  the  benefit  of  his 
children,  and  the  chastisement  of  his  enemies,  let  him 
alone.  Let  not  prosperity  excite  his  gratitude,  nor 
adversity  teach  him  humility.  Let  him  take  his 
course  unawed  by  threatenings,  and  unmoved  by 
love. 

Whether  the  thunders  of  the  Almighty  peal  around, 
or  the  sun  shines  in  glory  upon  him,  "  he  is  joined  to 
his  idols;  let  him  alone." 

Ministers  of  the  gospel,  let  him  alone  !  Cry  aloud 
and  spare  not ;  sound  the  alarm  in  the  ears  of  others, 
but  it  shall  not  reach  him.  The  chill  of  the  second 
death  is  creeping  upon  him,  and  no  voice  of  yours 
can  awaken  him  from  his  untimely  slumbers,  or  recall 
his  spirit  back  to  eternal  things.  Ministers  of  the 
gospel,  let  him  alone. 

Conscience,  thou  vicegerent  of  God  on  earth,  let 
him  alone.  No  longer  lash  him  into  fear  by  your 
terrible  convictions,  or  point  him  with  unerring  finger 
to  the  sinner's  doom.  Go,  wrap  thy  mantle  about 
thee,  and  slumber  in  insensibility,  until  the  grim 
messenger  at  last  bid  thee  wake  thy  scorpion  stings, 
and  sleep  no  more  for  ever. 

Spirit  of  the  living  God  !  let  him  alone.  Go,  let 
thine  arrows  fiy  thick  and  fast,  until  many  a  stubborn, 
rebellious  soul,  that  has  hitherto  stood  it  out  against 
all  invitation  and  warning,  shall  come  bending  in 
penitential  sorrow  to  the  feet  of  Jesus,  but  leave  him 
to  the  idols  he  has  chosen,  and  to  the  lusts  in  which 


264  DELAYS    ARE    DANGEROUS. 

his  polluted  heart  is  rioting.  He  has  done  deliberate 
despite  to  those  sweetlj-constraining  influences  of 
thine,  that  would  have  wooed  and  won  him  to  mj 
feet.     Spirit  of  the  living  God  !  let  him  alone. 

Ordinances  and  means  of  grace,  let  him  alone.  Be 
ye  to  my  people  as  the  dews  of  Hermon,  or  as  streams 
of  water  in  the  desert ;  but  be  ye  to  him  as  the  moun- 
tains of  Gilboa,  upon  which  no  rain  descends.  Let 
every  ordinance  that  he  witnesses — let  every  sermon 
that  he  hears — let  every  prayer  that  is  offered  for  his 
salvation,  but  aggravate  his  final  condemnation.  All 
this  will  fall  upon  him  for  the  execution  of  that  fear- 
ful sentence  that  knows  no  reversal,  "  He  is  joined 
to  his  idols,  let  him  alone."  Oh  !  if  these  be  the  con- 
sequences of  refusing  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  God, — 
if  this  be  the  doom  of  those  who  harden  their  hearts 
against  his  fear,  "  My  soul,  come  not  thou  into  their 
secret  ;  unto  their  assembly,  mine  honor,  be  not  thou 
united !" 

In  conclusion,  my  dear  hearers,  I  have  only  to 
say,  that  the  solemn  voice  of  God  has  repeatedly 
sounded  in  your  ears,  and  that  every  time  it  has  been 
uttered,  it  has  but  increased  your  responsibility. 
You  may  have  often  and  long  disregarded  it  ;  but,  in 
infinite  mercy,  another  opportunity  is  afi'orded  you 
for  heeding  it,  and  for  making  your  peace  with  God. 
Again  disregard  it,  and  hope  may  thenceforth  be  to 
you  a  stranger.  Your  day  of  grace,  at  best,  is  short, 
— oh,  how  short !  And  yet  how  much  is  there  to  be 
done  in  it  !  Life  is  fast  ebbing.  Time  is  receding — 
eternity  is  approaching,  and  soon  your  destiny  will 


DELAYS     ARE    DANGEROUS.  265 

be  for  ever  fixed.  "  Whatsoever,"  then,  "  thy  hand 
findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might ;  for  there  is  no 
work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the 
grave,  whither  thou  goest."  Oh  !  "  To-day,  if  ye  will 
hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  heart." 


Say,  sinner,  hath  a  voice  within. 
Oft  whispered  to  thy  secret  soul ; 

Urged  thee  to  leave  the  ways  of  sin, 
And  yield  thy  heart  to  God's  control  ? 

Hath  something  met  thee  in  the  path 

Of  worldliness  and  vanity, 
And  pointed  to  the  coming  wrath, 

And  warned  thee  from  that  wrath  to  flee  ? 

Sinner,  it  was  a  heavenly  voice. 
It  was  the  Spirit's  gracious  call ; 

It  bade  thee  make  the  better  choice, 
And  haste  to  seek  in  Christ  thine  all. 

Spurn  not  the  call  to  life  and  light ; 

Regard  in  time  the  warning  kind. 
That  call  thou  mayest  not  always  slight, 

And  yet  the  gate  of  mercy  find. 

God's  Spirit  will  not  always  strive 
With  hardened,  self-destroying  man ; 

Ye  who  persist  his  love  to  grieve, 
May  never  hear  his  voice  again. 

Sinner,  perhaps  this  very  day. 
Thy  last  accepted  time  may  be  ; 

Oh,  shouldst  thou  grieve  Him  now  away. 
Then  hope  may  never  beam  on  thee. 
23 


266 


SERMON  Y. 

THE   SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES  AND  OUR  PECULIAR  DUTIES. 

"For  if  thou  altogether  boldest  thy  peace  at  this  time,  then 
shall  there  enlargement  and  deliverance  arise  to  the  Jews  from 
another  place ;  but  thou  and  thy  father's  house  shall  be  destroyed : 
and  who  knoweth,  whether  thou  art  come  to  the  kingdom  for 
such  a  time  as  this  ?" — Esther  iv.  14. 

This  book,  whence  our  text  is  taken,  contains  a 
most  interesting,  and  in  many  respects,  a  most  thrill- 
ing narrative  of  Jewish  history,  during  their  subjec- 
tion to  the  Medo-Persian  yoke.  It  takes  its  name 
from  Esther,  the  principal  character  introduced  into 
it ;  and  as  a  whole,  is  admirably  calculated  to  illus- 
trate the  doctrine  of  providence,  and  the  methods 
and  instruments  by  which  the  great  Ruler  of  the  uni- 
verse accomplishes  his  purposes  of  mercy  and  of 
judgment. 

Esther,  though  the  daughter  of  a  Jewish  captive, 
had  been  raised,  for  her  beauty,  to  share  with  Ahasue- 
rus  the  great  in  the  throne  and  honors  of  his  mighty 
empire.  And  whilst  there,  she  became,  in  the  hand 
of  God,  the  instrument  of  preserving  her  people  from 
the  effects  of  a  conspiracy,  the  most  fearful  and 
wicked,  that  had  ever  been  hatched  for  the  extermi- 
nation of  a  whole  race. 

Haman,  the  wicked  Haman,  had  been  raised,  by  his 
obsequiousness  and  flattery,  to  become  the  favorite  of 
the  king.     The  latter,  in  his  attachment  and  profuse- 


THE    SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES,    ETC.        267 

ness,  had  heaped  honor  after  honor  upon  him ;  and  at 
last  had  promoted  him  above  all  the  princes  of  his 
court,  who  were  obliged  to  bend  the  knee  before  him 
whenever  he  entered  the  palace.  This  homage,  Mor- 
decai,  the  queen's  cousin,*  refused  to  pay  him,  which 
greatly  excited  his  envy  and  indignation,  for,  intoxi- 
cated by  the  pride  of  power  and  place,  he  could  not 
brook  the  idea  of  even  one  treating  him  with  coolness 
or  indifference.  And  in  the  spirit  of  a  revenge, 
which  had  its  origin  in  the  bottomless  abyss,  he  deter- 
mined to  free  himself  of  his  hated  enemy,  by  plotting 
his  destruction,  and  that  of  every  individual  of  the 
nation  to  which  he  belonged.  He  therefore  chooses, 
superstitiously,  a  day,  vfhich  he  thought  would  be 
auspicious  for  his  purpose,  and,  by  artifice  and  ca- 
lumny, prevails  upon  the  king  to  issue  a  decree, 
which,  amongst  the  Medes  and  Persians,  was  immu- 
table, for  the  extirpation  of  the  Jews ;  and  receives 
a  commission  to  publish  it  through  all  the  provinces 
of  his  extensive  empire. 

But  God,  who  controls  all  things,  even  the  actions 
of  wicked  men,  without  being  the  instigator  or  par- 
taker of  their  sins,  had  so  ordered  it,  in  his  provi- 
dence, that,  through  the  influence  of  Esther  and 
her  cousin,  his  infernal  schemes  should  be  defeated, 
and  that,  on  the  gallows  which  he  had  erected  for 
Mordecai,  he  himself  should  be  publicly  suspended. 
Yet  who  can  describe  the  anguish  and  terror  of  Mor- 

*  Esther  -was  the  daughter  of  Mordecai's  uncle;  hence,  his 
own  cousin. — Est.  ii.  7. 


268  THE    SIGNS     OF    THE    TIMES 

decai  and  the  Jews,  subsequent  to  the  issuing  of  the 
decree  and  pending  its  execution  ?  Given  up  by  an 
unalterable  decree,  into  the  hands  of  a  malignant  and 
powerful  enemy,  with  no  earthly  hope  of  deliverance, 
they  threw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  strength 
of  Israel  and  the  Saviour  thereof;  and  with  fasting 
and  mourning,  spread  their  case  before  him. 

Esther,  shut  up  in  the  apartments  of  her  palace, 
as  Eastern  women  generally  are,  had  heard  nothing 
of  all  this  until  informed  by  some  of  her  attendants, 
when  she  immediately  despatched  the  king's  chamber- 
lain to  inquire  of  her  cousin  the  particulars.  He 
immediately  informs  her  through  the  chamberlain,  of 
the  whole  conspiracy ;  and  requests  her  intercession 
with  the  king  for  him  and  her  people. 

Esther  excused  herself,  upon  the  ground  that  she 
had  lately  not  been  sent  for  by  the  king,  and  that  it 
was  as  much  as  her  life  was  worth  to  enter  into  his 
presence  without  being  called  ;  for  should  she  do  it, 
and  he  refuse  to  hold  out  the  golden  sceptre,  her 
death  vfould  be  the  immediate  consequence  of  her  pre- 
sumption. 

Mordecai  replies,  that  though  the  risk  is  great,  the 
circumstances  of  the  case  require  it ;  for  should  Ha- 
man  succeed,  she,  being  a  Jewess,  would  not  escape, 
even  though  in  "  the  king's  house,  more  than  all  the 
Jews;"  but  would  most  certainly  perish  in  this  uni- 
versal overthrow  of  her  nation  :  and  though  she  ha- 
zarded her  life  by  entering  the  king's  presence  un- 
bidden, she  run  as  great  a  hazard  by  refusing  to  make 


AND    OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  269 

the  attempt.  '^  For  if  thou  altogether  holdest  thy 
peace  at  this  time,  then  shall  enlargement  and  deli- 
verance arise  to  the  Jews  from  another  place  ;  but 
thou  and  thy  father's  house  shall  be  destroyed." 

Mordecai,  strong  in  faith,  was  fully  assured  that 
she  and  his  people,  by  some  means  or  other,  would 
be  delivered  of  the  Lord  ;  and  if  Esther  refused  to 
venture  her  life  in  the  cause,  their  enlargement  would 
be  attended  by  some  remarkable  judgment  upon  her 
and  her  family.  Besides,  who  knew  but  that  Provi- 
dence had  placed  her  in  her  present  elevated  position, 
in  order  to  make  her  the  deliverer  of  her  nation  in 
this  perilous  crisis  of  their  history  :  ^'  And  who  know- 
eth,  whether  thou  art  come  to  the  kingdom  for  such 
a  time  as  this?" 

We  have  quoted  this  verse,  my  friends,  not  for  the 
mere  purpose  of  sketching  this  history  of  a  Jewish 
danger  and  deliverance,  but  for  the  purpose  of  briefly 
unfolding,  enforcing,  and  applying  to  our  own  indi- 
vidual cases,  the  truth  taught  in  our  text,  viz.,  that 
many  of  our  most  important  duties,  as  in  the  case  of 
Esther,  arise  out  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  in 
which  Providence  and  grace  have  placed  us,  and  that 
a  determination  to  hold  our  peace,  and  to  refuse  our 
efforts,  when  the  ark  of  (rod  is  in  danger,  and  toe 
should  speak  out,  ivill  not  leave  us  guiltless  :  but  will 
expose  us  to  a  similar  judgment  with  that  which  fell 
upon  him,  who  buried  his  talents  in  the  earth,  and 
went  and  hid  his  Lord's  money.  ''For  unto  whom 
much  is  given,  of  him  shall  be  much  required." 
23* 


270  THE     SIGNS     OF    THE     TIMES 

If  we  are  disposed  to  inquire,  with  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
*'  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  we  shall  find 
a  speedy  and  satisfactory  answer,  not  only  in  the 
book  of  divine  revelation,  but  in  the  developments  of 
providence  around  us.  As  God,  in  a  great  measure, 
carries  on  his  plans,  and  accomplishes  his  purposes  of 
mercy  and  grace  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
Church,  every  individual  minister,  and  elder,  and 
member  of  that  Church,  has  the  appropriate  work  of 
his  own  sphere  and  station,  modified  by  existing  cir- 
cumstances, marked  out  for  him ;  and  any  refusal  on 
his  part,  to  inquire  into  the  nature  of  that  work,  or  to 
perform  it  in  dependence  upon  Divine  grace,  when  it 
is  pointed  out,  places  him  in  an  attitude  of  hostility 
to  God  and  his  providence,  and  exposes  him,  sooner 
or  later,  to  the  doom  of  the  unprofitable  servant. 

We  may  forget  that  we  are  the  "  steward^  of  the 
manifold  grace  of  God,"  but  God  does  not  forget  it. 
We  may  be  indifferent  to  the  signs  of  the  times,  and 
refuse  to  ''touch  with  one  of  our  fingers,"  the  mate- 
rials of  that  mighty  temple  which  the  God  of  grace 
is  erecting  in  the  world,  and  may  slumber  on  through 
the  short  day  of  our  probation  in  the  Church,  but  it 
will  be  to  awake  to  a  fearful  reckoning,  when  we 
come  to  give  an  account  of  our  stewardship,  and  to 
be  weighed  in  the  balances  of  infinite  justice.  To 
every  one  of  us  as  his  servants,  is  the  King  and  Head 
of  the  Church,  saying,  "Occupy  till  I  come."  And 
everything  around  us  reminds  us  that  in  a  little  while 


AND     OUR     PECULIAR    DUTIES.  271 

the  Judge  will  be  at  the  door,  and  we  shall  hear  his 
voice  saying  unto  us,  "  Give  an  account  of  thy  steward- 
ship." Whatever,  therefore,  we  do  for  our  own 
personal  salvation,  or  the  salvation  of  others,  we 
must  do  quickly.  With  David  we  are  called  upon  to 
serve  our  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  and  with 
David  we  are  soon  to  fall  asleep,  and  to  be  gathered 
to  our  fathers,  whether  our  generation  work  is  per- 
formed or  not,  and  all  regrets  then  over  the  abuse  of 
our  privileges,  the  misimprovement  of  our  talents, 
and  the  non-performance  of  our  duties,  will  be  un- 
availing. 

If,  then,  we  have  duties  to  perform,  and  those 
duties  are  modified  by  the  circumstances  of  our  lot, 
we  cannot  spend  the  time  allotted  for  this  exercise 
more  properly  than  by  an  inquiry  into  their  nature 
and  character.  If  we  have  come  to  the  kingdom  for 
such  a  time  as  this,  what  is  the  time  ? 

1st.  It  is  a  time  in  which  the  enemies  of  the 
Church,  either  through  open  and  avowed  infidelity, 
or  through  the  medium  of  those  heresies  which  deceive 
whilst  they  corrupt  and  destroy,  are  concentrating 
their  forces  to  trample  truth  in  the  dust,  and  to  sub- 
vert, if  possible,  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.  It 
is  a  time  in  which  men  are  aiming  to  destroy  the 
beauty,  and  force,  and  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  either 
by  hiding  it  beneath  the  rubbish  of  their  absurd  tra- 
ditions, or  by  making  it  a  stepping-stone,  by  which 
vain  and  ambitious  aspirants  in  the  Church  may  pre- 


272  THE    SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES 

sumptuously  assume  the  keys  of  the  kingdom,  and 
lord  it  over  God's  chosen  heritage. 

It  is  a  time  in  the  Church  in  which  power  is  rapidly 
stealing  back  from  the  many  to  the  few,  and  when 
that  blasphemous  dogma — for  I  can  call  it  nothing 
else, — w^iich  makes  salvation  to  depend,  not  upon 
the  blood  of  Jesus  and  the  sanctification  of  his  Spirit, 
but  upon  the  submissive  reception  of  external  rites 
and  ordinances,  administered  by  self-styled  successors 
of  the  apostles,  is  creating  a  haughty,  despotic  hierar- 
chy in  the  Church,  and  reconstructing  that  mighty 
engine  of  ecclesiastical  power  over  the  bodies  and 
the  souls  of  men,  which  Luther,  Calvin,  and  their 
noble  coadjutors  labored  so  long  and  so  well  to  de- 
molish. 

It  is  a  time,  as  in  the  days  of  Esther,  when  there 
is  hatching  a  fearful  conspiracy  against  the  Church 
and  the  people  of  God,  when  the  Haman  of  the  day 
sits  in  the  temple  of  God,  and  blasphemously  claims 
all  homage,  either  personally,  or  through  the  schemes 
of  his  Jesuitic  emissaries,  who  are  stretching  their 
cordon  around  the  little  flock  of  God,  cunningly 
spreading  their  nets  to  entrap  the  unwary,  and  seek- 
ing, like  skilful  generals,  to  destroy  by  artifice  and 
intrigue,  where  they  cannot  overcome  by  open  vio- 
lence and  force.  You  see  them  not  in  the  spirit  of 
Paul,  but  in  the  spirit  of  hell,  becoming  "  all  things 
to  all  men,"  if  by  any  means  they  may  gain  their 
end.  You  may  find  them  wherever  power  is  to  be 
wielded,  or  influence  is  to  be  gained, — the  cunning 


AND    OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  273 

politician,  the  dignified  statesman,  the  polished  cour- 
tier, the  learned  professor,  and  the  lordly  bishop ;  down 
to  the  barefooted  friar,  the  humble  confessor,  the 
tonsured  monk,  and  the  bead-carrying,  "Ave-Maria"- 
muttering,  sanctified-looking  priest  at  the  altar — as- 
suming every  shape ;  an  angel  of  light  or  a  spirit  of 
darkness,  as  the  case  may  require ;  yet  all  worked 
by  one  iron  will,  all  united  as  the  heart  of  one 
man,  to  rebuild  the  superstition  and  despotism  of 
popery  upon  the  ruins  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
If  the  signs  of  the  times  do  not  indicate  such  an 
effort  as  this,  we  have  totally  mistaken  their  cha- 
racter. 

2d.  It  is  a  time  in  which  that  infidelity  which  has 
so  long  skulked  in  dens  and  caves,  again  stalks  forth 
to  the  light,  and  presents  its  embattled  front  before 
the  armies  of  the  living  God ;  not,  it  is  true,  with  the 
same  bold,  blasphemous  daring,  which  characterized 
it  in  the  days  of  the  French  Revolution,  when  it  pro- 
claimed to  the  world  that  there  was  no  God,  and 
that  death  was  an  eternal  sleep  ;  but  under  the  artful, 
and  a  more  cunning,  form  of  an  assumed  rational 
Christianity,  it  makes  its  stab  at  the  very  vitals  of 
our  pure  and  holy  religion,  and  fritters  away  the 
truth  of  God  into  senseless  and  unmeaning  fables. 
It  comes  not,  as  in  the  Reign  of  Terror,  to  exalt  a 
common  prostitute  to  the  throne  of  reason,  and  then 
bow  down  and  worship  her,  but  to  exalt  that  reason 
itself  to  the  throne  of  God,  and  to  make  the  dicta  of 
a  depraved  and  blinded  understanding  the  standard 


2T4  THE    SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES 

by  which  the  holy  and  sublime  mysteries  of  the  gos- 
pel are  to  be  measured  and  interpreted — the  centre 
around  which  they  are  all  to  revolve  and  pay  their 
homage. 

This  is  the  rationalism  of  the  day,  which,  spun 
forth  from  a  vain  philosophy,  has  spread  over  Ger- 
many— the  land  of  Luther  and  Melancthon, — poison- 
ing the  very  fountains  whence  the  Reformation  sprung, 
— sending  forth,  like  the  burning  volcano,  its  streams 
of  desolation  over  the  Christian  Church,  taking  from 
it  everything  that  is  green  and  flourishing,  and  plea- 
sant to  the  eye  and  the  heart,  and  leaving  it  barren 
and  fruitless  as  the  desert  of  sand.  This  is  human 
reason,  which  infidelity  considers  a  sufficient  guide 
to  the  knowledge  of  "  the  holy,"  and  which,  instead 
of  sitting  in  humble,  listening  attitude  at  the  vesti- 
bule of  the  temple,  to  catch  the  oracle  of  inspiration, 
boldly  lifts  the  veil,  enters  the  most  holy  place,  lays 
her  sacrilegious  hand  upon  the  ark  of  the  testimony, 
and  sweeps  from  off  the  mercy-seat  the  blood  of  the 
everlasting  covenant.  This  is  the  rational  Chris- 
tianity that  denies  the  Trinity,  the  incarnation  and 
death  of  the  Son  of  God ;  nay,  in  a  word,  that  ridi- 
cules as  a  fable  the  truth  that  sin  exists,  and  that 
Christ  died  to  deliver  us  from  its  guilt  and  power ; 
and,  under  the  specious  pretence  that  reason  is  to  be 
the  judge  of  revelation,  and  that  nothing  but  what 
she  can  fully  understand  and  decide  upon  is  to  be 
received  as  truth,  it  carries  its  votaries  forward  step 


AND    OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  275 

by  step,  until  they  are  lost  in  the  mazes  of  a  gloomy 
and  cheerless  atheism. 

And  happy  would  it  be  for  the  Church  and  the 
world,  if  this  soul-benumbing,  atheistic,  philosophical 
Christianity  had  been  confined  in  its  influence  to 
those  who  first  taught  and  received  it ;  but,  like  the 
leaven  in  the  lump,  it  has  been  spreading  and  spread- 
ing, until  it  has  traversed  the  ocean,  reached  our 
own  land,  and  is  working  its  baleful  influences  in  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  editors  at  the  press,  of  ministers 
at  the  altar,  and  of  those  who  are  occupying  positions 
in  society  where  they  can  mould  and  shape  the  des- 
tiny of  the  masses  around  them ;  and,  where  its  influ- 
ence w^ill  stop  and  the  barrier  be  raised  beyond 
which  it  cannot  go,  time  and  providence  only  can 
develope. 

3d.  I  remark  that  it  is  a  time  of  great  commotion 
in  the  social  and  political  world.  I  need  scarcely 
advert  to  the  events  which,  for  the  last  six  months, 
have  been  occurring  in  Europe,  with  which  you  are 
all  familiar.  Though  they  came  suddenly  upon  the 
world,  they  were  not  unforeseen.  Europe  is  in  con- 
vulsions, and  the  events  that  shall  yet  happen  will 
probably  be  unsurpassed  in  their  magnitude  by  any 
political  occurrences  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. Everywhere  is  the  cloud  of  war  or  civil  discord 
arising.  One  hour  upturns  a  throne ;  another,  and 
a  new  republic  is  the  crater  of  a  new  volcano.  Those 
natural  passions  and  instincts  of  men  for  freedom, 
which  have  so  long  been  bound  by  the  iron  bands  of 


276  THE    SIGNS     OF    THE    TIMES 

despotism,  have  burst  their  shackles,  and,  carried 
away  by  the  power  of  that  impulse,  they  have  become 
as  ungovernable  as  the  ocean  in  a  storm. 

No  man  can  say  what  city  or  what  state  this  day 
is  not  heaving  by  this  mighty  earthquake  of  human 
passion.  No  man  can  say  where  the  lawlesss  spirit 
of  the  mob  is  not  reigning  triumphant.  No  man  can 
say  what  dark  deeds  of  crime  and  blood  are  not  now 
perpetrating  by  those  who  have  arisen  in  their  might 
to  execute  the  judgments  and  avenge  the  oppressions 
of  centuries.  No  man  can  tell  what  ties  of  life  and 
blood  are  sundering,  what  instincts  of  our  common 
nature  are  being  rooted  out,  or  what  laws  of  God  and 
man  are  profaned.  The  crisis  looked  for  has  come ; 
the  trial  hour  of  Europe  is  upon  her.  Old  landmarks 
are  removed ;  systems  of  hoary  despotism,  that  had 
laid  their  foundations  so  deep  in  human  ignorance 
and  superstition,  that  they  thought  them  immutable, 
have  been  heaved  up  from  their  bases  by  this  mighty 
eruption  of  human  mind,  and  lie  in  scattered  and 
disjointed  fragments  around. 

The  battle  between  the  divine  right  of  kings  and 
the  people  has  begun,  and  where  will  the  end  be  ? 
When  will  these  scenes  of  death  and  carnage  cease  ? 
Or  when  will  a  new  and  better  order  of  things  arise, 
as  by  the  word  of  Omnipotence,  from  this  dark  and 
confused  chaos  ?  Is  despotism  crushed  ?  or  is  another 
Phoenix  to  arise  out  of  its  ashes  ?  Has  one  tyrant 
been  put  down,  only  to  pave  the  way  for  a  hundred 
others?   Weseenot  there  "thebeginningof  the  end." 


AND    OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  277 

Society  is  dissolving  itself  into  its  original  elements, 
and  how  is  it  to  be  remodelled  and  reformed?  I 
need  not  say  to  a  Christian  assembly,  that  there  is 
but  one  really  conservative  principle  in  the  world, 
and  that  is  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  Without  it, 
men  become  either  the  serfs  of  tyrants  without,  or 
the  slaves  of  their  own  blind  passions  within.  The 
history  of  the  world — the  history  of  these  last  six 
months — is  evidence  of  this  truth.  Without  this,  the 
ship  of  state,  cut  loose  from  its  old  moorings,  will  be 
sent  adrift  upon  a  stormy  sea,  to  founder  and  to 
perish.  And  this  is  the  fear  of  every  reflecting 
Christian  in  Europe  and  America.  Nothing  but  the 
religion  of  Christ  can  bring  light  out  of  this  dark- 
ness, and  order  out  of  this  confusion. 

And  for  the  introduction  of  this  necessary  element 
in  human  liberty  and  human  happiness,  the  way  is 
opening.  Where  truth  was  once  trodden  down  and 
crushed,  it  has  now  ''  free  course."  Restrictions 
have  been  removed ;  unjust  laws  have  fallen  with  the 
tyrants  who  made  them ;  and  where,  but  a  few 
months  ago,  the  way  of  truth  was  hedged  up  by 
almost  insuperable  barriers,  and  its  ministers  and 
friends  were  subjected  to  the  most  annoying  persecu- 
tions, it  can  now  be  proclaimed  and  taught,  with  none 
to  molest  or  make  afraid.     And  if  in  this  we  recoo-- 

o 

nise  the  finger  of  God,  we  also  see  plainly  written 
the  duty  of  the  Church.  If  a  door,  great  and  ejffec- 
tual,  is  opened  unto  us,  it  becomes  us,  at  once,  to 
arise  in  our  strength  and  enter ;  and  in  the  name  of 

24 


278  THE    SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES 

the  great  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  to  take  possession 
of  the  kingdom.  Depend  upon  it,  that  mighty  re- 
sults, for  good  or  evil,  shall  grow  out  of  these  politi- 
cal and  social  agitations.  And  though  human  saga- 
city may  not  foresee  all  their  consequences,  yet  who 
can  doubt  but  what  they  have  given  an  impulse  to 
the  great  ocean  of  mind  that  will  be  felt  for  ever 
through  all  its  boundless  depths  ? 

If  such,  then,  as  I  have  briefly  and  imperfectly  enu- 
merated them,  are  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  the 
providential  dispensations  around  us  ;  and  we  are  in 
God's  kingdom  and  church  on  earth ;  and  we  are  in 
it  for  such  a  time  as  this — we  are  in  it,  not  to  be 
mere  idle  spectators  of  passing  events  around  us,  but 
as  the  stewards  of  "the  manifold  grace  of  God,"  to 
whom  he  has  committed  a  solemn  charge,  and  whom 
he  has  commanded  to  occupy  until  he  come.  We 
are  here  to  labor  for  the  deliverance  and  enlargement 
of  Zion ;  and  to  make  our  instrumentality  to  be  felt, 
in  whatever  way  they  can  best  promote  this  great 
end  of  human  life.  And  if  this  be  true,  and  who 
can  doubt  it,  the  great  query  is.  What  must  we  do  ? 
How  shall  we  best  bring  about  this  deliverance  and 
enlargement  of  the  Church  ?  or  make  this  wrath  of 
man  redound  to  the  glory  of  God  ? 

First,  then,  I  remark  that,  under  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances of  the  times,  our  charity  should  ahound. 
Common  interests  and  dangers  should  ever  unite  in 
a  common  bond.  When  that  decree  of  the  royal 
Persian  had  gone  forth,  which  consigned  a  whole 


AND     OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  279 

nation  to  fearful  and  remediless  destruction,  how 
strongly  must  their  common  peril  have  knit  together 
every  member  of  that  widely  extended  family  of 
Israel  !  Those  little  feuds  and  animosities  that  had 
separated  and  estranged  neighbors  and  friends,  were 
buried  in  oblivion ;  and  all  were  united,  as  with  the 
heart  of  one  man,  for  each  other's  protection  and 
safety.  And  should  not  the  same  spirit  characterize 
the  Israel  of  God  at  this  day?  Shall  the  Herods 
and  the  Pilates  of  the  day,  league  for  the  destruction 
and  corruption  of  the  Church  ?  And  shall  they,  who 
are  so  deeply  interested  in  her  welfare,  permit  an 
unnatural  estrangement  to  render  abortive  all  their 
efforts  for  her  deliverance  and  enlargement  ?  There 
is  too  much  at  stake,  too  much  that  requires  the  effort 
of  united  Christianity,  to  be  overlooked  or  disregarded 
in  petty  disputings  about  words  and  forms,  that  are 
unessential  to  the  existence  of  true  piety. 

Whilst  spiritual  despotism  and  infidelity  from  with- 
out, and  cold,  calculating,  worldly-mindedness  with- 
in, are  threatening,  if  not  to  destroy  the  Church,  to 
leave  it  but  a  name  to  live ;  they,  who  love  the  inte- 
rests of  Zion  and  of  Zion's  King,  should  present  an 
unbroken  front  to  the  foe  without,  and  an  equally 
decided  attitude  of  hostility  to  the  traitor  within. 
And  we  trust  that  we  see,  in  the  signs  of  the  times, 
the  commencement  of  a  new  era — the  dawn  of  a  bet- 
ter day  to  the  Church — in  this  respect.  We  trust 
that  we  have  seen,  in  what  has  occurred  during  the 
past  year,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  a  determination 


280  THE    SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES 

on  the  part  of  evangelical  Christians  to  lay  aside 
their  petty  animosities,  to  band  together  in  defence 
of  the  common  truth,  and  to  move  together  in  har- 
mony to  their  common  heaven.  And  though  all  the 
plans  of  this  great  gospel  organization  are  to  a  degree 
crude  and  imperfect,  and  though  great  caution  is  to 
be  used,  and  much  is  to  be  done  to  remove  existing 
diflficulties,  we  think  we  can  see  in  it  the  germ  of 
that  tree  whose  spreading  branches  are  to  fill  the 
earth,  and  can  catch,  through  it,  faint  glimpses  of 
that  happy  day  when  the  "  watchmen  shall  see  eye 
to  eye,"  in  the  things  that  make  for  the  prosperity 
of  Zion. 

Not  that  we  would  advocate  any  union  at  the  ex- 
pense of  principle.  True  love  requires  no  such  sacri- 
fice ;  and  every  compact  thus  entered  into,  and  every 
bond  thus  formed,  would  be  but  a  rope  of  sand.  The 
truth  of  Jesus  is  too  sacred,  ever  to  be  bartered  for 
a  corrupt  harmony  or  a  false  peace.  Yet  why  may 
not  the  Church  have  its  federal  union,  as  well  as  the 
country,  in  which,  whilst  the  peculiar  laws,  and  cus- 
toms, and  institutions  of  each  member  of  the  compact 
are  left  untouched,  they  may  stand,  like  these  states, 
upon  a  common  platform,  and  if  not  legislate,  at  least 
consult  for  the  good  of  the  whole.  Zeal  for  the  truth 
is  not  bigotry,  and  is  perfectly  compatible  with  that 
charity  which  "  thinketh  no  evil ;  which  rejoiceth  not 
in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth ;  which  beareth 
all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  en- 
dureth  all  things."     And  if  the  enemies  of  the  truth 


AND  OUR  PECULIAR  DUTIES. 


281^ 


are  combining  against  us,  and  plotting  our  destruc- 
tion, let  the  army  of  the  living  God,  animated  by  a 
common  zeal,  and  aiming  at  a  common  result,  stand 
together  like  a  Macedonian  phalanx. 

Certain  it  is,  that  Christian  union  has  much  to  do 
■with  the  world's  evangelization.  It  strengthens  the 
cause,  by  the  concentrated  effort  it  gives  it ;  deve- 
lopes  true  religion  in  its  right  direction  ;  shuts  up 
the  mouth  of  infidels  and  papists  ;  and  restores  to  the 
Church  that  lovely  feature  of  primitive  Christianity, 
which  constrained  its  enemies  to  exclaim,  "  Behold 
how  these  Christians  love  one  another." 

Second.  The  signs  of  the  times  require  that  our  in- 
dividual influence  sliould  he  felt.  It  was  Esther's 
influence  with  the  king,  that  unmasked  the  conspiracy 
of  the  wicked  Haman,  and  delivered  herself  and 
nation  from  threatened  destruction.  How  much  de- 
pended upon  her  effort,  her  prudence,  and  her  zeal. 
A  refusal  to  engage  in  the  enterprise,  or  one  false 
and  imprudent  step,  might  have  been  fatal  to  her  and 
her  people.  And  she  stands  out  this  day,  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  as  a  monumental  proof  of  the 
evil  that  may  be  averted,  and  of  the  good  that  may 
be  accomplished,  by  personal  influence  and  effort, 
timely  and  judiciously  used. 

''  None  of  us  liveth  to  himself."  God  has  bound 
men  together  by  various  bonds,  that  they  may  exert 
upon  each  other  a  beneficial  and  saving  influence. 
And  however  humble  the  sphere  of  an  individual  may 
be,  he  wields  a  mighty  influence  for  God  or  Satan, 
2i* 


282  THE    SIGNS    OE    THE    TIMES 

for  good  or  evil,  for  heaven  or  hell.  This  moral 
power  is  exerted  and  felt  in  the  family  circle,  and  in 
all  the  social,  civil,  and  religious  relations  in  life.  It 
is  operative  every  day  and  hour  that  we  live ;  and 
even  after  death,  it  will  continue  to  operate  through 
future  ages  and  generations.  What  a  tremendous 
responsibility  !  And  how  much  it  is  enhanced  by 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  our  lot,  and  of  the  times 
in  which  we  live.  Well  may  each  one  of  us  solemnly 
inquire  as  a  parent,  friend,  citizen,  or  professor  of 
religion.  Am  I  on  the  Lord's  side,  or  on  the  side  of 
Satan  ?  am  I  with  Christ,  or  against  him?  am  I  help- 
ing to  save,  or  to  destroy  the  souls  of  men?  If 
others  sell  themselves  to  commit  sin,  and  are  willing 
to  toil  as  the  bond  slaves  of  Satan,  shall  they  who 
call  themselves  the  disciples  of  Him  "  whose  yoke  is 
easy  and  whose  burden  is  light,"  sit  down  in  apathe- 
tic indifference  to  those  precious  interests  that  lay  so 
near  their  Saviour's  heart,  and  that  were  the  moving 
cause  of  all  that  he  did  and  suffered?  No  !  this  is 
to  lack  the  spirit  of  true  discipleship,  and  to  rank 
ourselves  not  amongst  the  friends,  but  the  enemies  of 
Christ.  This  is  to  show  the  form  of  godliness,  whilst 
we  deny  its  power,  and  to  have  a  name  to  live  whilst 
we  are  dead. 

No  true  Christian  heart,  warmed  with  love  for  Jesus 
and  zealous  for  his  cause,  can  look  abroad  at  the 
efforts  that  are  making  to  currupt  the  Church,  and  to 
throw  over  its  light  the  pall  of  infidelity  and  super- 
stition ;  or  can  look  at  the  wide  fields  now  open  for 


AND     OUR     PECULIAR     DUTIES.  283 

Christian  labor  ;  without  raising  his  voice  against 
this  unhallowed  conspiracy,  and  straining  every  nerve 
to  arouse  the  slumbering  Church  to  a  sense  of  her 
dangers  and  her  duties.  "England,"  said  a  celebrated 
son  of  Britain  on  the  eve  of  a  mighty  naval  battle, 
"expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty."  And  from 
higher  motives,  and  with  more  glorious  results  in  view, 
we  may  add — in  time  of  peril.  Heaven  expects  every 
Christian  soldier  to  be  at  his  post,  and  to  do  his 
duty. 

It  is  no  time  for  drones,  or  idlers,  or  cowards,  in 
the  camp  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  The  Church  and 
the  world,  are  on  the  eve  of  a  mighty  struggle — a 
struggle  which  is  to  terminate  in  the  downfall  of  the 
one  or  the  other  ;  and  he,  who  is  not  at  his  post, 
with  armor  bright  and  burnished,  and  ready  for  the 
conflict,  has  mistaken  the  character  of  the  age  in 
which  he  lives ;  and  the  end  for  which  he  has  been 
called  into  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer.  For  who 
knoweth  but  that  he  has  come  to  the  kingdom  for  such 
a  time  as  this?  Let  every  one  of  us  rest  assured  that 
our  individual  influence  is  one  of  the  precious  talents 
that  the  king  has  committed  to  our  trust ;  and  he 
who  uses  it  to  distract  and  dissever  the  Church  ;  or 
to  corrupt  and  destroy  the  world ;  instead  of  em- 
ploying it  to  advance  that  cause  which  God,  in  a 
peculiar  manner,  has  committed  to  his  people  here, 
is  preparing  for  himself  a  final  home  with  hypocrites 
and  unbelievers. 

Again,  I  remark  that  the  time  and  circumstances 


284  THE    SIGN^S    OF    THE    TIMES 

in  which  we  live  demand  earnest,  importitnate,  and 
united  prayer  to  Grod,  To  whom  shall  we  go,  but 
unto  him  ?  He  is  our  only  help  in  the  time  of  trou- 
ble ;  and,  if  he  hide  his  face  and  desert  us,  *' vain  is 
the  help  of  man." 

Well  did  Esther  realize  this,  when  she  determined 
to  enter  the  king's  presence  unbidden,  and  that  at 
the  risk  of  her  life.  She  not  only  fasted  and  prayed 
herself,  but  she  besought  her  friends  to  fast  and 
pray  with  her  ;  so  that  God  might  put  his  great 
strength  in  her,  and  bless  her  perilous  undertaking. 
And  when  we  look  around  upon  the  mighty  enemy 
that  is  coming  in  upon  us  like  a  flood,  threatening  to 
devastate  the  Church,  and  to  sap  the  foundations  of 
our  Zion,  are  we  not  constrained  to  cry  out,  with  the 
king  of  Judah  in  his  peril,  "We  have  no  might 
against  this  great  company  that  cometh  against  us  ; 
neither  know  we  what  to  do  ;  but  our  eyes  are  upon 
thee."  And  if  this  mighty  conspiracy  of  supersti- 
tion and  infidelity  be  not  crushed,  it  will  be  for  the 
want  of  earnest,  importunate  prayer,  on  the  part  of 
those  who  are  so  deeply  interested  in  the  issue. 
Prayer  is  the  lever  that  moves  the  arm  that  moves 
the  universe;  and  if  it  bring  down  God  from  his 
throne,  and  array  him  upon  our  side,  who  shall  be 
against  us  ?  What  barrier  of  the  adversary  shall 
not  be  thrown  down  ?  What  difliculty  in  the  way  of 
the  world's  salvation  shall  not  be  overcome.  Let 
Him  but  smile  upon  our  efforts,  and  though  the  com- 
bined   powers  of  earth    and    hell   come  up  to  the 


AND     OUR     PECULIAR    DUTIES.  285 

assault,  they  shall  be   scattered  as  the  chaff  before 
the  driving  wind. 

Then  let  our  united  cry  go  up  into  the  ears  of  the 
Lord  of  Sabaoth,  for  his  Spirit  to  raise  up  a  stand- 
ard against  this  mighty  flood  of  the  enemy.  What ! 
shall  we  hold  our  peace,  when  Satan  and  his  minions 
are  threatening  to  take  from  us  the  last  hope  of  a 
doomed  and  dying  world  ?  What  !  shall  we  not  cry 
with  the  souls  under  the  altar,  "How  long,  0  Lord," 
when  that  dread  power,  which  has  drunk  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs,  and  wearied  out  the  saints  of  the 
Most  Hio^h,  is  ao;ain  hatchinoj  another  fearful  con- 
spiracy  against  the  Church,  and  laboring  to  lay  upon 
her  the  iron  yoke  of  the  heaven-accursed  Antichrist  ? 
What !  shall  no  prayer  come  up  before  the  throne, 
when  the  heaven-daring  infidelity  of  the  day,  threat- 
ens to  rob  us  of  our  Bibles  and  our  Saviour  ;  and 
when  the  self-styled  advocates  of  reason  would  blot 
out  from  the  creed  of  the  Church,  and  snatch  from 
the  hopes  of  dying  men,  the  only  blessed  name 
under  heaven,  by  which  they  can  be  saved  ;  and 
leave  them  to  grope  their  way  through  this  dark 
world  to  that  which  is  to  come,  with  no  other  light 
than    the   feeble    rays  of    weak,  misguided,  human 


reason 


? 


Have  we  no  interest  in  a  world  of  sinners  ?  No 
concern  for  the  countless  myriads  of  the  present 
generation,  who  are  so  soon  to  appear  with  us  before 
the  bar  of  God  ?  And,  with  our  eye  resting  upon 
this  perishing  harvest,  and  our  ear  pierced  with  the 


286  THE    SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES 

cry  of  these  dying  millions,  have  we  no  prayer  to 
put  up  to  Him  who  controls  human  hearts,  that  he 
would  fill  the  field  with  multitudes  of  devoted  and 
efficient  laborers  ?  Surely  we  have  come  to  the 
kingdom  to  pray  in  such  a  time  as  this,  when  we 
have  so  many  arguments  with  which  to  fill  our  mouths. 
When  Queen  Esther  had  entered  the  presence  of  her 
royal  husband,  the  golden  sceptre  was  extended,  and 
he  promised  her  whatsoever  she  should  ask,  to  the 
half  of  his  kingdom.  It  was  a  large  promise,  worthy 
of  the  riches  and  royalty  of  the  most  munificent 
sovereign  of  the  globe.  Yet,  what  was  this,  or  what 
are  all  the  gifts  that  have  ever  been  heaped  by  the 
noble  and  beneficent  on  their  courtiers  and  friends, 
compared  to  the  promises  that  cluster  around  the 
mercy  seat ;  and  that  invite  us  to  bring  our  petitions 
there  ?  There  the  golden  sceptre  is  ever  extended  ; 
there  is  the  rich  profusion  of  the  grace  of  Him  who 
"  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  became  poor, 
that  we  through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich  :"  There 
is  light,  and  life,  and  peace,  and  joy  —  all  in  the 
gift  of  our  Emmanuel  Jesus — and  all  ready  to  be  be- 
stowed, "without  money  and  without  price,"  upon 
every  humble  petitioner  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

And  how  many  arguments  have  we  to  present,  how 
many  pleas  to  offer,  to  induce  God  to  arise  and  plead 
his  own  cause !  We  can  plead  for  his  own  mercy's 
sake  ;  we  can  plead  his  promise  to  the  fathers  ;  his 
own  covenant  engagement  as  the  great  Captain  of 
salvation  to  conduct  his  Church  safely  through  all 


AND  OUR  PECULIAR  DUTIES.     2.87 

her  dijfficulties,  and  to  bring  her  to  the  promised  rest. 
We  can  plead  for  his  own  glory's  sake — the  glory 
which  he  revealed  in  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire,  that 
accompanied  his  Israel  in  all  her  march — the  glory 
which  he  revealed  more  fully  in  his  manifestation  in 
the  flesh,  and  in  the  mighty  workings  and  influences 
of  his  Spirit  shed  down  from  above.  ^Ye  can  plead 
that  this  glory  will  be  tarnished,  and  that  this  name 
that  is  above  every  other  name,  will  be  dishonored, 
if  the  enemies  of  his  Church  are  permitted  to  tri- 
umph, whilst  its  friends  sit  weeping,  like  a  virgin 
desolate,  amidst  her  ruins.  And  shall  not  arguments 
and  pleas  such  as  these,  coming  from  humble,  devoted, 
united  hearts,  move  the  Majesty  of  the  heavens  and 
command  the  blessing  ? 

4th.  The  times  require  self-denial,  and  the  entire 
consecration  of  ourselves  and  property  to  God.  Such 
was  the  case  with  Esther,  and  the  Jews.  They  fasted 
in  their  extremity  ;  and  doubtless,  were  all  the  facts 
of  that  perilous  crisis  known,  it  would  be  found  that 
no  means  were  left  untried,  and  no  expense  was 
spared  in  taking  measures  for  the  common  safety. 
And  the  interest  which  every  member  of  the 
Church  has  in  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  should 
banish  every  feeling  of  selfishness,  and  lead  to  the 
most  enlarged  liberality.  And  if  the  enemies  of  the 
truth  have  their  overflowing  coffers ;  and  are  every- 
where sending  forth  their  emissaries,  with  a  full 
hand,  to  scatter  their  poison,  and  carry  on  their  work 
of  darkness ;  shall  we  Vr^ithhold  from  the  treasury  of 


288  THE    SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES 

the  Lord  the  means  so  necessary  to  counteract  their 
baneful  influence,  and  to  fill  the  world  with  truth  and 
righteousness  ?  0  !  this  is  not  the  spirit  of  true  disci- 
pleship.  This  is  not  the  characteristic  of  those  who 
are  not  their  own,  but  who  are  bought  with  a  price ; 
and  who  are  bound,  therefore,  to  glorify  God  in  their 
bodies,  and  in  their  spirits,  which  are  God's.  "  Freely 
ye  have  received,  freely  give."  Church  of  God  ! — ye 
know  what  the  Saviour  has  done  for  you.  Ye  know  that 
when  "  he  was  rich,  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor, 
that  ye  through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich  ;"  ye  know 
that  he  perilled  all  for  your  salvation — that  he  re- 
deemed you  ''not  with  corruptible  things,  as  silver 
and  gold,"  but  with  his  heart's  warm  blood;  and 
shall  he  ask  your  aid — your  co-operation — in  this 
great  work  of  human  redemption — and  meet  with  a 
refusal  ?  "  Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it  not  in  the 
streets  of  Askelon;  lest  the  daughters  of  the  Philis- 
tines rejoice,  lest  the  daughters  of  the  uncircum- 
cised  triumph." 

Remember,  that  so  long  as  God  makes  use  of 
human  instrumentality,  he  will  find  willing  hearts 
and  hands  to  accomplish  his  purposes.  And  if  we, 
the  Church  so  highly  favored  in  gospel  lands,  refuse 
to  do  it,  he  will  raise  up  others  to  supply  our  places, 
and,  despite  of  all  our  unwillingness  to  place  the 
crown  of  the  universe  upon  his  head,  the  Stone  which 
the  builders  rejected  shall  become  the  Head  of  the 
corner.  The  deliverance  and  enlargement  promised 
to  Zion  shall  come  to  it,  and  if  it  come  not  with  our 


AND    OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  289 

aid,  it  will  come  without  it ;  but  let  us  beware,  lest, 
in  the  covetous  spirit  of  the  age,  we  be  found  with- 
holding our  tithe  of  the  means  with  which  God  hath 
blessed  us,  and  thus  bring  upon  ourselves  the  curse 
of  Meroz,  who  came  not  up  to  '^  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  against  the  mighty." 

Never  was  there  an  enterprise  that  had  so  many 
marks  of  dignity  about  it,  as  that  of  missions,  and 
yet,  how  many  overlook  it,  or  treat  it  with  contempt. 
Speak  of  it,  and  the  scoffing  infidel  raises  the  hue 
and  cry  of  fanaticism,  and  tells  you  that  he  fears  for 
the  intellect  of  its  advocates.  Speak  of  it,  and  the 
baptized  worldling  looks  at  you  with  amazement. 
His  little  heart  has  never  expanded  beyond  the  nar- 
row circumference  of  his  little  self,  and  what  has  he 
to  do  with  the  world?  Let  others  perish  if  they 
may,  it  is  enough  for  him  to  save  himself.  Speak  of 
it,  and  the  calculating  professor  has  a  thousand  ob- 
jections to  urge — the  extravagance  of  agents,  the 
impracticability  of  the  plans,  and  the  improbability 
of  success — and  whils  the  grasps  his  money-bags  with 
a  death  gripe,  he  tells  you  with  perfect  indifference 
to  the  world's  wants,  that  "Charity  begins  at  home." 
Speak  of  it,  and  you  may  hear  even  the  true  Christian, 
whilst  he  acknowledges  the  dignity  and  importance 
of  the  enterprise,  calculating  how  little  of  his  luxu- 
ries he  may  retrench,  or  how  few  of  his  comforts  he 
may  deny  himself,  in  order  to  carry  it  on.  But  let 
infidelity  oppose   it,   let   lukewarm   Christianity  sit 

25 


290  THE    SIGNS    OF     THE    TIMES 

calmly  by  it,  it  is  a  glorious  cause,  and  it  shall  pre- 
vail. 

Men  can  live  as  they  list,  but  Jesus  is  destined  to 
conquer  and  to  reign,  whether  they  share  in  his  vic- 
tories, or  be  trampled  beneath  his  triumphal  car.  If 
they  will  withhold  from  the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  the 
tithe  of  the  means  with  which  he  has  blessed  them, 
let  them  do  so;  the  final  exaltation  of  the  Church  is 
to  be  accomplished  through  the  instrumentality  of 
man,  and  if  they  are  willing  to  be  excused  from  tak- 
ing part  in  the  glorious  enterprise,  be  it  so.  Jesus 
and  his  cause  shall  not  lack  means  or  friends.  The 
silver  and  the  gold  are  his,  and  there  are  thousands 
of  willing  souls  who  are  ready  to  cast  into  his  trea- 
sury, either  of  their  penury,  or  of  their  abundance. 
But  let  those  who  refuse  to  bear  their  part  prepare 
for  the  reckoning,  for  others  shall  reap  the  reward, 
and  wear  the  crown,  whilst  they  will  be  left  to  mourn 
their  folly  with  the  unprofitable  and  the  faithless. 

Lastly,  I  remark  that  the  times  require  strong 
faith.  It  was  a  dark  hour  to  Mordecai,  when  he 
heard  the  proclamation  of  that  unalterable  decree 
which  consigned  him  and  his  nation  to  remedi- 
less destruction,  yet  it  was  not  one  of  despair,  for 
"  unto  the  upright  there  ariseth  light  in  the  dark- 
ness." Fully  was  he  persuaded,  that,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  enlargement  and  deliverance  would 
come  to  them  from  some  quarter.  And  forbidding 
as  may  be  the  aspect  of  things  around  us,  and  gloomy 
as  the  prospect  to  our  short-sightedness  may  appear, 


AND    OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  291 

let  no  true  Christian's  heart  despond.  "  The  heathen 
may  rage,  and  the  people  may  imagine  a  vain  thing, 
the  kings  of  the  earth  may  set  themselves,  and  the 
rulers  may  take  counsel  together,  against  the  Lord, 
and  against  his  anointed,  saying.  Let  us  break  their 
bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us. 
But  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh,  the 
Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision." 

Difficulties  may  meet  us,  dangers  may  threaten  us, 
dark  clouds  may  gather  around  us,  but  the  difficulties 
shall  be  removed,  the  dangers  shall  be  escaped,  and 
"  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  at  evening  time  it  shall 
be  light."  Like  the  disciples  on  stormy  Galilee,  the 
Church  may  be  out  in  the  tempest  where'  the  break- 
ers foam,  and  the  mountain  billows  roll,  but  she  is 
safe ;  for  Jesus,  the  master  of  the  elements,  is  on 
board,  and  one  word  from  his  blessed  lips,  one  move- 
ment of  his  omnipotent  arm,  and  their  wild  warfare 
is  hushed  into  the  calmness  of  a  summer  evening  sun- 
shine. No  weapon  that  has  ever  been  formed  against 
him  has  prospered,  and  his  success  in  times  past, 
affords  sure  ground  of  encouragement  that  he  shall  still 
go  on  conquering  and  to  conquer,  *'  until  he  hath  put 
all  enemies  under  his  feet."  Dismiss  then  your  fears. 
The  Church  is  safe.  Like  its  ancient  type,  the  ark 
of  Noah,  it  shall  but  rise  amidst  the  swelling  tumult 
that  gathers  around  it,  and,  like  that  well-freighted 
ark,  it  shall  ride  in  safety  over  the  wreck  of  a  doomed 
and  desolated  world. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  let  us  awake  to  our  duties 


292  THE     SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES 

and  meet  our  resjjonsibilities,  "with  true  Christian  for- 
titude and  self-denial.  Let  there  be  no  drones  in  the 
hive,  no  idlers  in  the  vineyard,  no  cowards  in  the 
camp,  but  let  each,  in  his  sphere,  exert  the  influence 
and  consecrate  the  means,  with  w^hich  God  has  blessed 
him,  for  the  advancement  of  that  cause,  for  which 
Jesus  the  Saviour  stripped  himself  of  all  his  heavenly 
glory,  and  submitted  to  the  humility  of  the  manger, 
and  the  ignominy  of  the  cross.  Remember,  we  can- 
not change  our  circumstances,  nor  the  order  of  Provi- 
dence. Remember,  we  cannot  annihilate  the  facts 
which  stare  us  in  the  face.  We  have  come  to  the 
kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this,  and  woe  be  to  him 
who  holds  his  peace,  and  refuses  his  efforts  or  his 
prayers.  The  Church  is  moving  onward  to  her  des- 
tiny, and  all  the  mighty  movements  of  the  age,  how- 
ever adverse  they  may  appear,  are  helping  her  to 
accomplish  it.  And  woe  be  to  that  man  or  to  that 
woman  who  can  sit  down  in  ignorance  and  indifference 
to  the  signs  of  the  times,  or  who  feels  no  disposition 
to  put  up  the  prayer,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me 
to  do  ?"  We  may  hold  our  peace,  and  hug  the  pro- 
perty which  God  may  so  soon  remove  from  us,  but 
let  us  prepare  ourselves  for  the  fearful  reckoning, 
when  he  shall  come  to  make  inquisition  for  the  blood 
of  ruined  and  murdered  souls,  that  shall  be  found  in 
our  skirts. 

How  many  motives  address  us  ?  How  many  argu- 
ments, on  every  hand,  urge  us  to  activity  and  self- 
consecration  in  this  great  and  noble  work?     Soon 


AND     OUR    PECULIAR    DUTIES.  293 

your  lamp  of  life  "will  be  extinguished  ;  soon  the 
shadows  of  the  dark  valley  will  be  on  you ;  soon  the 
clods  of  the  valley  will  cover  you.  And  you  owe  it 
to  yourselves  to  labor  w^iile  you  may,  with  all  dili- 
gence, in  bringing  trophies  of  grace  to  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  for  all  such  trophies  will  enhance  the  blessings 
of  your  own  salvation,  and  will  set  starry  gems  in 
your  crown  of  rejoicing.  You  owe  it  to  your  chil- 
dren, and  to  your  country,  and  to  the  generations 
that  shall  succeed  you,  for  otherwise  you  cannot  be 
established  and  enlarged  at  home.  You  owe  it  to 
the  idolatrous  nations,  who  are  rushing  headlong,  in 
unbroken  ranks,  down  to  the  gulf  of  perdition.  You 
owe  it  to  your  Lord  and  Master,  vfho  hath  bought 
you  with  his  blood,  sustained  you  by  his  grace,  and 
prepared  for  you  blissful  mansions  as  your  everlast- 
ing home.  Up  then,  ministers,  elders,  and  church 
members  to  your  generation  work.  You  have  mighty 
co-workers,  and  there  is  no  cause  for  despondency. 
The  Eternal  smiles  upon  you  from  his  throne,  the 
great  King  and  Captain  of  your  salvation  is  leading 
in  the  van,  and  the  Holy  Spirit's  almighty  agency  is 
ever  promised  you.  You  must,  therefore,  be  finally 
successful.  However  dark  the  future  may  appear, 
you  shall  at  length  triumph,  as  did  Esther  and  the 
Jews,  "  For  who  knoweth  whether  thou  art  come  to 
the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this  ?" 


Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross, 

A  follower  of  the  Lamb, 

25* 


294        THE     SIGNS    OF    THE    TIMES,    ETC. 

And  shall  I  fear  to  own  his  cause, 
Or  blush  to  speak  his  name  ? 

Must  I  be  carried  to  the  skies, 

On  flowery  beds  of  ease, 
While  others  fought  to  win  the  prize. 

And  sailed  through  bloody  seas  ? 

Are  there  no  foes  for  me  to  face  ? 

Must  I  not  stem  the  flood  ? 
Is  this  dark  world  a  friend  to  grace. 

To  help  me  on  to  God  ? 

Sure  I  must  fight  if  I  would  reign ; 

Increase  my  courage,  Lord ; 
I'll  bear  the  toil,  endure  the  pain. 

Supported  by  thy  word. 

Thy  saints  in  all  this  glorious  war. 
Shall  conquer  though  they  die  ; 

They  see  the  triumph  from  afar, 
With  faith's  discerning  eye. 

AVhen  that  illustrious  day  shall  rise. 
And  all  thine  armies  shine. 

In  robes  of  victory  through  the  skies, 
The  glory  shall  be  thine. 


295 


SERMON  VI. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    PARADOX. 
"When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong." — 2  Cor.  xii.  10.* 

The  objects  of  human  knowledge,  though  nume- 
rous in  themselves,  are  few,  when  compared  with  the 
almost  infinite  variety  beyond  the  grasp  of  human 
intellect,  and  the  range  of  human  thought.  We  may 
boast  the  powers  of  human  genius,  and  extol  its  dis- 
coveries, yet  how  narrow,  how  circumscribed  are  its 
walks,  when  placed  in  contrast  with  those  limitless 
fields  of  truth  that  have  never  yet  been  explored. 

Who  has  soared  higher  into  the  regions  of  the  limit- 
less and  eternal,  than  the  immortal  New^ton  ?  He 
measured  the  earth  as  with  a  line,  and  weighed  it  as 
in  his  balance.  He  w^andered  away  to  the  bright 
worlds  above  us,  counted  their  number,  measured 
their  orbits,  and  watched  their  courses,  as  they 
wheeled  in  their  mighty  revolutions  around  each 
other,  and  the  eternal  throne.  And  yet  you  hear 
the  dying  Newton  exclaim,  as  he  looks  back  over  his 
long  and  eventful  life,  "  I  have  been  but  gathering 
pebbles  upon  the  sea-shore,  whilst  the  great  ocean  of 
truth  lies  unexplored  before  me."  It  seemed  to  him  as 

*  This  was  Mr.  M'Ginnes's  last  sermon,  preached  on  the  Sab- 
bath immediately  preceding  his  death. 


296  THE     CHRISTIAN    PARADOX. 

if  he  had  been  but  amusing  himself  with  bubbles  upon 
the  surface,  whilst  the  depth  of  nature's  mysteries  re- 
mained yet  a  sealed  book.  What  he  knew,  was  vast, 
was  wonderful ;  what  he  did  not  know,  was  infinite, 
was  stranger  still. 

How  often  is  it  urged  against  the  Christian  reli- 
gion by  drivelling  deists  and  infidels,  that  it  is  too 
mysterious  to  be  credible,  and  that  they  are  not  wil- 
ling to  admit  what  they  cannot  comprehend.  And 
what  can  they  comprehend  ?  Can  they  comprehend 
the  God,  whose  existence  they  themselves  acknow- 
ledge ?  Can  they  enter  his  secret  soul,  define  his 
essence  and  mode  of  existence,  or  by  searching,  find 
him  out  to  perfection  ?  Can  they  comprehend  the 
world  of  nature  ?  Can  they  tell  you  what  are  those 
stars  that  cluster  around  the  brow  of  night  ?  What 
mysterious  attraction  whirls  them  on  their  axis  and 
carries  them  along  their  orbits,  true  to  their  centres 
as  the  magnetic  needle  to  the  pole  ?  Can  they  tell 
how  the  dead  seed  buried  in  the  earth  shoots  forth  a 
living  blade  ?  And  how  life  springs  up  from  rotten- 
ness? Can  they  comprehend  their  own  matchless 
forms,  so  "fearfully  and  wonderfully  made  ?"  Can 
they  tell  what  is  life  ?  what  its  origin  ?  and  where  its 
seat  ?  Why  beat  their  palpitating  hearts  ?  What 
moves  their  active  limbs,  or  carries  the  red  current 
through  every  artery  and  vein  ?  What  stops  them 
at  a  breath,  and  makes  the  animated  man  a  lump  of 
earth  ?  Can  they  comprehend  that  thinking,  restless 
something  within  them,  the  soul  ?  what  its  nature  ? 


THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX.  297 

its  essence  ?  Is  it  matter  ?  Is  it  spirit  ?  How  came 
it  the  tenement  of  these  clayey  tabernacles  ?  By 
what  process  does  it  give  strength  and  motion  to 
these  nervous  fibres,  and  strength  and  activity  to 
these  swelling  muscles  ?  Alas  !  they  cannot  tell. 
The  finger  of  the  Almighty  has  written  mystery  on 
everything  around  them,  and  about  them ;  above  them, 
and  beneath  them.  And  yet,  forsooth,  they  must 
not  receive  anything  but  what  they  can  comprehend ; 
and  they  must,  therefore,  reject  Revelation,  because 
it  is  too  mysterious  for  belief.  Such  folly  might  well 
excite  a  smile,  were  it  not  for  the  consequences  in- 
volved. The  Bible  has  nothing  to  fear  from  such 
arguments  or  such  opponents. 

The  analogy  of  reason  teaches  us,  that  if  the  God 
of  nature  and  providence  is  mysterious  and  unsearch- 
able in  his  ways,  the  God  of  Bevelation  cannot  be 
otherwise.  And  so  we  find  it.  At  almost  every  step 
in  the  Bible,  propositions  meet  us  which  require  our 
belief,  not  because  they  are  fully  comprehensible,  but 
because  we  have  evidence  that  God  has  uttered  them; 
and  they  rest  their  truthfulness,  therefore,  upon  the 
authority  of  Him  that  cannot  lie.  There  are  myste- 
ries in  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  far  beyond  our  ken 
to  fathom.  And  as  a  result  of  faith  in  these  doctrines, 
there  are  mysteries  in  Christian  experience,  no  less 
strange  and  wonderful.  And  such  to  the  hearer,  unen- 
lightened by  the  Spirit,  is  the  paradox  of  the  apostle 
before  us,  "  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong." 
You  may  call  it  absurd  if  you  please,  it  is  neverthe- 


298  THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX, 

less,  a  true  proposition.  You  may  smile  at  it  as  the 
dreamings  of  an  enthusiast,  yet  every  babe  in  Christ 
has  demonstrated  its  reality. 

What  heathen  philosopher,  amidst  all  the  volumes 
that  have  been  written  on  the  subject  of  human  mo- 
rals and  happiness,  ever  exhorted  his  hearers  to  be 
weak  in  order  to  be  strong  ?  What  modern  deist  has 
ever  thought  of  embodying  such  a  proposition  as  this 
in  his  code  of  morals, — "  A  man  must  become  weak 
before  he  can  be  strong?"  Oh,  does  not  the  light 
of  God  shine  forth  in  every  line  of  the  sacred  page, 
and  prove  the  Bible  to  be  what  it  professes  to  be, 
"the  great  mystery  of  godliness?"  Is  it  strange, 
then,  that  Christians  are  to  be  wondered  at,  when 
they  admit  so  strange  an  hypothesis  as  this,  and 
affirm  their  greatest  strength  to  be  in  their  greatest 
weakness  ?  No  wonder  that  they  are  a  peculiar 
people,  and  that  the  world  knoweth  them  not,  for  the 
hidden  sources  of  their  religion  and  of  their  happiness 
are  amongst  the  deep  things  of  God. 

"  Most  gladly,"  says  Paul,  "will  I  rather  glory  in 
my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest 
upon  me.  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmity,  in  re- 
proaches, in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses, 
for  Christ's  sake,  for  when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I 
strong."  This  language  expresses  Paul's  experience, 
not  so  much  as  an  apostle,  as  a  Christian.  And  our 
design  is  to  consider  in  what  this  weakness  consists, 
and  how  it  becomes  an  occasion  of  strength. 

1st.    What  is  the  weakness  to  which  the  apostle 


THE    CHRISTIAN     PARADOX.  299 

refers. — It  is  not  bodily  infirmity.  He  is  referring 
to  a  peculiar  state  of  mind,  to  express  which,  the 
term  "-weak,"  figuratively  used,  is  well  adapted. 
Nor  does  he  refer  to  the  reality,  but  to  the  appre- 
hension of  this  weakness,  for  the  two  may  widely 
difi"er.  In  the  former  view  of  the  subject,  all  men 
are  weak,  but  it  is  not  an  occasion  of  strength  to  all. 
The  word  of  God  plainly  teaches  that  the  fall  has 
left  all  men  not  only  without  righteousness,  but  with- 
out strength.  By  nature  men  are  helpless  as  to  all 
the  purposes  of  the  divine  life.  There  is  no  sound- 
ness in  them.  Their  carnal  minds  are  enmity  against 
God,  and  they  cannot,  because  they  will  not,  come 
to  Christ,  that  they  may  have  life.  Yet  how  few 
are  sensible  of  this  painful  fact.  They  are  alive 
without  the  law ;  and,  like  the  Laodiceans,  fancy 
themselves  "  rich  and  increased  with  goods,  and  as 
having  need  of  nothing,  and  know  not  that  they  are 
wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and 
naked."  And  he,  who,  in  the  delirium  of  fever, 
imagines  himself  in  health,  and  strives,  despite  the 
soothing  counsels  of  his  physician  and  friends,  to 
leave  his  couch,  is  not  more  mistaken  than  the  deluded 
sinner,  who  sneers  at  these  solemn  declarations  of 
the  Bible  and  the  pulpit  as  mere  cant,  and  boasts 
his  native  power  and  strength.  Indeed,  men  will 
sooner  acknowledge  their  guilt  than  their  inability, 
for,  in  the  blindness  of  their  depravity,  sin  is  with 
them  a  matter  of  little  moment.  But  to  acknov/ledge 
themselves  without  strength,  would  be  to  compromit 


300  THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX. 

the  dignity  of  human  nature,  and  to  lay  the  axe  at 
the  very  root  of  their  pride  and  glory.  Hence  you 
often  hear  them  confess,  that  they  have  not  done 
"what  they  ought  to  have  done,  or  are  not  what  they 
ought  to  be.  And  though  they  have  never  made 
trial  of  their  strength,  yet  they  always  rest  upon  the 
presumption  of  their  competency. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  to  the  reality  of  our  weakness 
that  the  apostle  refers,  but  to  our  apprehension  of 
it ;  and  this,  not  as  the  result  of  any  mere  unaided 
investigation  of  the  human  mind  into  its  condition, 
but  as  the  result  of  the  effectual  operation  of  God's 
Spirit,  for  it  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth.  He  illu- 
minates the  dark  chambers  of  the  soul  by  his  heavenly 
light,  and  brings  manifest  to  the  day  its  hidden  things 
of  darkness.  He  awakes  it  from  its  lethargy,  and 
breathes  into  it,  by  his  Almighty  power,  the  breath 
of  spiritual  and  eternal  life.  Convictions  of  sin,  of 
righteousness,  and  of  a  judgment  to  come,  are  awak- 
ened. The  sinner  is  no  longer  alive  without  the  law, 
for  that  law,  in  all  its  spirituality  and  extent,  has 
come  home  with  light  and  power  upon  his  conscience. 
Anxiety  and  alarm  succeed  to  peace  and  security. 
Indifference  gives  way  to  effort,  and  not  a  moment  is 
lost  until  the  great  question  of  the  soul's  salvation  is 
asked  and  satisfactorily  answered.  Then,  and  not 
till  then,  does  he  truly  realize  his  weakness,  and  his 
entire  dependence  upon  sovereign  grace,  for  all  those 
changes  of  relation  and  of  state  that  make  meet  for 
heaven.     And  surely,  when  the  burden  of  his  guilt  is 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PARADOX.  301 

removed,  and  the  light  of  life  has  beamed  in  upon 
his  soul,  he  is  not  likely  to  forget  the  important 
lesson  taught  him  in  the  hour  of  his  agony,  or  to 
presume  upon  his  native  ability.  Nay,  the  more  he 
yields  himself  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  more  clearly 
does  he  see  and  feel  how  necessary  it  is  to  have  the 
power  of  Christ  resting  upon  him,  in  order  to  his 
abounding  in  every  good  word  and  work. 

Again,  this  sense  of  weakness  is  learned  from  other 
means,  from  observation  and  experience.  As  the 
great  leading  principles  of  human  nature  are  in  all 
minds,  Christians  may  judge  of  their  own  tendency 
to  declension  from  the  history  of  others.  They  hear 
and  see  multitudes  falling  around  them,  who  promised 
fair  to  be  bright  and  shining  lights  in  the  world,  and 
who  seemed  much  more  likely  to  stand  than  them- 
selves. How  many  did  Bunyan's  Pilgrim  meet,  with 
their  faces  turned  from  the  heavenly  Zion,  and  who, 
either  discouraged  or  frightened  by  some  untoward 
event  or  singular  occurrence,  were  hastening  back 
as  fast  as  possible  to  the  city  of  destruction  !  How 
many  careless  loiterers,  who  seemed  indifferent  whe- 
ther they  made  any  progress  in  the  way  of  holi- 
ness or  not  ?  How  many  sleeping  upon  enchanted 
ground  ?  Each  case  of  declension,  and  each  pitiable 
object  crying  in  his  ears,  as  with  a  thousand  tongues, 
"  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest 
he  fall."  Bunyan  was  a  Christian,  and  his  pilgrim 
was  but  a  history  of  his  own  observation  and  expe- 


302  THE    CHRISTIAN     PARADOX. 

rience,  and  others  stand  in  the  same  circumstances, 
and  have  the  same  voice  of  warning. 

Who  can  read  the  Scriptures,  and  learn  of  the 
declension  and  falls  of  men  so  distinguished  for  piety 
as  many  of  them  were,  and  not  fear  for  his  own  ? 
Behold  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faithful,  and  the 
friend  of  God,  betrayed  into  dissimulation  by  his 
unbelief.  See  Jacob  devising  treachery  against  his 
brother,  Moses  speaking  unadvisedly  with  his  lips, 
Job  cursing  the  day  of  his  birth,  David  staining  his 
hands  with  murder  and  adultery,  Solomon  playing 
the  fool,  and  Peter  the  coward,  and  who  is  not  ready 
to  exclaim,  *'  Lord,  what  is  man,  that  thou  art  mind- 
ful of  him,  and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest 
him  ?"  Or,  to  breathe  forth  the  prayer,  "  Hold  thou 
me  up,  and  I  shall  be  safe." 

The  events  of  life  often  enlarge  our  self-acquaint- 
ance. Who  knows  what  he  is  until  he  is  tried,  or  is 
beset  by  his  own  peculiar  temptations  ?  Our  besetting 
sins  differ  according  to  constitution  and  circumstance, 
and  what  may  be  a  matter  of  no  consequence  to  one 
person,  and  easily  avoided  by  him,  is  a  strong  temp- 
tation to  another ;  and  well  does  the  adversary  know 
this,  and  takes  advantage  of  these  peculiarities  of 
our  depraved  nature.  When  Balaam  saw  that  Balak 
could  not  prevail  against  Israel,  either  by  force  or 
enchantment,  he  taught  the  King  of  Moab  to  cast  a 
stumbling-block  in  their  way, — to  lead  them  to  com- 
mit fornication,  and  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols. 
And  he  who  prevailed  not  by  force  or  enchantment, 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PARADOX.  303 

prevailed  by  artifice  and  stratagem,  for  his  deluded 
victims  separated  themselves  to  that  shame.  As 
Joab  adhered  to  David  in  the  rebellion  of  Absalom, 
and  yet  turned  aside  after  Adonijah,  so  may  we  be 
firm  in  one  peril,  and  yet  fall  in  another.  He  who 
despises  the  world's  wealth  may  pant  after  its  honors, 
and  he  who  is  indifi'erent  to  fame,  may  be  allured  by 
the  blandishments  of  pleasure.  Satan  could  not  en- 
tice Solomon  to  ask  for  riches,  but  he  knew  the  strong 
passions  of  his  heart,  and  suited  his  temptations  to 
their  nature.  And  Solomon,  with  all  his  wisdom, 
was  snared  and  taken.  He  could  not  persuade  Judas 
to  betray  the  Saviour  for  the  world's  honors,  but  he 
dazzled  him  with  the  glare  of  riches,  and  what  worldly 
fame  could  not,  avarice  accomplished. 

And  in  his  own  experience  the  Christian  finds  the 
same  artifice  practised — the  same  appeals  made  to  the 
besetting  sins  of  his  nature — the  same  inability  of 
himself  to  ward  ofi"  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one. 
How  often  has  he  resolved  and  re-resolved,  and  done 
the  same  ?  How  often  has  he  wept  tears  of  sorrow 
over  his  fall,  and  extricated  himself  from  the  toils, 
and  before  he  was  well  aware,  found  himself  again 
in  the  net  ?  Such  is  human — such  is  Christian  weak- 
ness. 

Afflictions,  too,  are  frequently  called  temptations, 
because  they  try  and  prove  us.  Their  legitimate 
tendency  is  to  work  patience,  yet  how  often  do  we 
murmur  ?  They  are  to  produce  in  us  "  the  peaceable 
fruits  of  righteousness,"  but  how  seldom  do  they  make 


804  THE    CHRISTIAN    PARADOX. 

the  intended  impression,  or  bring  us  forth  as  gold 
seven  times  tried  in  the  fire?  Who  has  not  thus 
been  led  to  question  the  reality  of  his  religion,  and 
to  mourn  his  deficiencies  ?  And  where  will  the  mys- 
tery end  ?  Who  can  understand  his  enemies  ?  Who 
can  say,  I  have  made  my  heart  clean, — I  am  pure 
from  sin  ?  Thus  the  Christian  seems  worse  only 
because  he  is  wiser.  He  now  learns  how  far  his 
weakness  extends.  Arduous  duties  press  upon  him 
on  every  side.  The  race  that  is  set  before  him  is  to 
be  run.  God  and  the  Saviour  are  to  be  glorified. 
The  exhortations  of  divine  inspiration  bind  him  to 
be  "  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord." 
His  own  immortal  interests  are  to  be  secured,  his 
Christian  graces  are  to  be  in  active  exercise,  and  the 
enemies  who  seek  to  destroy  him  are  to  be  overcome. 
He  has  relative  duties  to  perform  to  the  families  with 
which  he  is  connected,  to  the  church  to  which  he 
belongs,  and  to  the  world  in  which  he  lives.  "  And 
who  is  sufiicient  for  these  things."  "To  will  is 
present  with  him,  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is 
good,  he  finds  not.  When  he  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  him.  The  good  that  he  would  he  does 
not,  but  the  evil  which  he  would  not,  that  he  does." 
Gladly  would  he  take  the  wings  of  a  dove,  and  fly 
away  and  be  at  rest,  but  the  wires  of  his  cage  tell 
him  that  he  is  a  prisoner.  He  would  sing,  but  his 
voice  is  untuned,  and  his  harp  is  suspended  upon  the 
willows.  A  retrospect  of  his  former  experience  hum- 
bles him,  and  he  is  ready  to  cry  out  with  one  of  old, 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PARADOX.  305 

"  ^  Oh  !  that  I  were  as  in  months  past,  as  in  the  days 
when  God  preserved  me,  when  his  candle  shined  upon 
my  head,  and  when,  by  his  light,  I  walked  through 
darkness.'  Oh,  that  I  could  trust  his  promises  as  I 
once  could,  and  behold  again  those  excellencies  in 
the  Saviour  which  first  ravished  my  newborn  heart : 

"  'Wretch  that  I  am,  to  wander  thus 
In  chase  of  false  delight ! 
Let  me  be  fastened  to  thy  cross, 
Rather  than  lose  thy  sight. 

"  'Make  haste  my  days  to  reach  the  goal, 
And  bring  my  heart  to  rest 
On  the  dear  centre  of  my  soul. 
My  God,  my  Saviour's  breast.'" 

He  feels  inadequate  to  perform  the  least  duty;  how 
much  more,  were  he  called  to  offer  up  an  Isaac,  or  to 
die  at  the  stake.  He  feels  unable  to  order  his  spirit 
aright  before  the  world,  or  to  endure  with  Christian 
temper  the  trifling  vexations  of  the  hour ;  yea,  with 
a  heart  so  vile  as  his,  what  security  has  he  against 
the  greatest  sins  ?  Keputation  and  common  pru- 
dence, the  great  safeguards  of  the  world  without, 
have  been  so  often  broken  in  upon,  that  even  in  them 
he  can  feel  no  certain  confidence  of  victory ;  and  he 
prays  with  David,  not  only  "  cleanse  thou  me  from 
secret  faults,"  but  "  keep  back  thy  servant  also  from 
presumptuous  sins." 

And  what  is  there  to  meet  all  this  weakness  ? 
When  he  examines,  he  finds  nothing  about  him  sufli- 

26- 


306  THE    CHRISTIAN     PARADOX. 

cient  for  it.  He  cannot  depend  upon  the  grace  that 
he  received  at  regeneration.  He  could  just  as  easily 
live  to-day  upon  the  food  of  yesterday,  or  last  week, 
as  enjoy  spiritual  life  without  fresh  communications 
from  the  Spirit.  Nor  can  he  depend  on  frames  or 
feelings,  which  constitutional  action,  the  health  of  the 
body,  or  a  thousand  other  circumstances  may  change. 
Frames  and  feelings  are  not  food,  they  are  merely 
cordials  in  their  nature,  and  rather  exhilarate  than 
nourish.  Nor  can  he  depend  upon  his  vows  or  reso- 
lutions. He  has  seen  too  often  their  vanity  in  bind- 
ing his  depraved  heart.  Though  seeming  invincible, 
they  have  yielded  in  the  hour  of  temptation,  and  be- 
fore the  assaults  of  the  enemy,  they  were  but  as  a 
broken  reed,  or  as  a  wall  of  vapor.  Nor  can  he 
depend  on  means  or  ordinances.  He  values  them  as 
channels  through  which  divine  grace  is  communi- 
cated, and  he  will  be  found  in  the  use  of  them, 
because  to  do  so  is  both  his  privilege  and  his  duty. 
But  means  are  nothing,  unless  rendered  effective  by 
the  agent.  Unless  God  give  the  increase,  Paul  will 
plant,  and  Apollos  will  water  in  vain. 

This  seems  a  discouraging  state  to  be  in.  But 
God's  methods  of  dealing  with  the  children  of  men 
are  often  very  different  from  ours.  And  he  who 
seems  to  us  to  be  in  the  greatest  darkness  and  dan- 
ger, and  nearest  despair,  is  often  standing  on  the 
very  threshold  of  light  and  hope. 

11.  And  hence  I  come,  in  the  second  place,  to 
affirm,  that  this  consciousness  of  his  7iative  weakness 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PARADOX.  307 

^s  to  the  Christian  an  occasion  of  strength.  And 
such  is  its  result,  1st.  Because  it  inspires  diffidence 
and  caution.  Next  to  revelation,  one  of  the  best 
schools  in  which  to  learn  our  native  character,  is 
experience.  It  confirms  the  teaching  of  the  former, 
and  proves  its  principles  to  be  trtle  by  actual  experi- 
ment. He  who  has  tried  his  physical  strength,  and 
tried  it  in  the  vigor  of  his  days,  and  under  favorable 
circumstances,  need  not  be  told  what  strength  is  in 
his  arm.  He  knows  it,  for  he  has  strained  its  muscles 
to  their  utmost  tension,  and  can  tell  precisely  what 
they  will  bear.  And  shall  not  experience  in  reli- 
gion just  as  well  attest  the  existence  of  facts,  and 
lead  to  as  certain  results?  If  the  Christian  has 
learned  by  actual  experiment  what  he  can  do,  and 
what  he  cannot  do,  be  it  little  or  much,  anything  or 
nothing ;  surely,  he  will  be  careful  not  to  expose  him- 
self unnecessarily  to  such  trials,  or  such  enemies,  as 
will  be  an  overmatch  for  his  strength.  He  will  not 
venture  into  the  company  of  the  infidel  and  the 
wicked,  lest  he  learn  their  ways,  and  become  en- 
trapped in  their  wiles.  Well  does  he  know,  by  past 
experience,  that  the  remaining  corruptions  of  his 
nature  are  in  league  with  these  adversaries  of  his 
soul,  and  are  ever  ready,  at  their  bidding,  unless 
watched  with  an  eagle  eye,  to  unbar  the  door,  and 
give  them  admittance  into  his  heart ;  and  the  best 
possible  way  ^o  escape  the  temptation,  is  to  avoid 
their  intercourse  altogether.  He  who  stands  in  "  the 
way  of  sinners,"  will  soon  walk  in  the  "  counsel  of  the 


•308  THE     CHRISTIAN    PARADOX. 

ungodly,"  and  will  finish  his  preparation  for  perdi- 
tion, by  sitting  in  "the  seat  of  the  scornful." 

A  proper  apprehension  of  his  -weakness  restrains 
him  from  every  scene  of  dissipation  and  vice.  Nay, 
that  which  is  lawful,  he  may  not  find  it  expedient 
for  him  sometimes  to  do,  lest  it  give  others  an 
undue  advantage  over  him,  and  be  an  occasion  of 
sin.  What  the  world  calls  innocent  amusements,  or 
indeed  that  amusement  which,  when  moderately 
indulged  in  is  really  innocent,  may,  from  circum- 
stances, become  such  a  bait  to  entrap  his  soul,  as  to 
require  of  him  a  self-denial  of  their  enjoyment.  For, 
as  a  writer  has  remarked,  he  who  knows  that  he  has 
so  much  tinder  about  him,  should  not  invite  the 
sparks.  The  self-conceited  may  be  bold,  but  the 
humble  will  always  be  diffident  and  vigilant.  He 
will  not  boast  in  high-swelling  words  of  his  prowess 
and  courage,  or  think  that  he  can  stand  where  others 
have  fallen,  who  were  firmer  than  he.  If  David  and 
Peter,  and  others,  who  were  saints,  have  been  over- 
come by  the  evil  one,  he  will  not  presumptuously 
take  their  place,  and  throw  their  circumstances  around 
him,  and  hope  to  escape.  He  will  not  make  haste  to 
be  rich,  or  fasten  his  afi"ections  upon  worldly  goods, 
lest  he  should  "  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare, 
and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown 
men  in  destruction  and  perdition."  He  will  not  give 
a  loose  rein  to  his  ambition,  nor  aspir^  after  worldly 
honors,  lest  he  find  himself  inadequate  to  their  diffi- 
culties and  dangers ;  or  become  so  dazzled  by  their 


THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX.  309 

distinctions,  as  to  lose  sight  of  his  latter  end,  and  of 
the  crown  of  glory. 

If  God  calls  him  into  an  arduous  and  perilous 
situation,  the  call  insures  his  safety  ;  for  God  will  not 
permit  our  duties  to  become  inlets  to  temptation,  or 
task  our  powers  above  what  we  can  bear.  Nor  will 
he  follow  the  pleasure-loving  throng  to  their  vain  and 
worldly  amusements,  lest  they  fasten  their  toils  around 
him,  and  pierce  his  soul  through  with  many  sorrows. 
"Vanity  of  vanities,"  has  the  preacher  written  upon 
them  all ;  and  the  voice  of  warning,  coming  from  one 
with  the  experience  of  Solomon,  proclaims  as  with 
seven  thunders  in  his  ears — beware  !  The  self-suffi- 
cient are  never  safe,  for  no  one  can  warn  them  with- 
out giving  offence ;  but  the  man  who  knows  himself 
is  not  high-minded,  but  welcomes,  with  thankfulness, 
admonition  and  reproof.  Faithful  to  him  are  the 
words  of  a  friend,  for  they  are  not  meant  to  kill,  but 
to  heal. 

2d.  I  remark,  that  an  apprehension  of  our  weak- 
ness is  an  occasion  of  strength,  as  it  leads  to  prayer. 
He  who  fancies  his  strength  sufficient  for  the  conflict, 
will  not  beg  for  assistance.  Nay,  it  is  more  natural 
for  such  an  one  to  glory  in  his  fancied  achievements, 
and  to  suppose  himself  full,  lacking  nothing.  Such 
was  the  character  of  the  self-righteous  Pharisee,  who 
presented  himself  before  God  in  the  temple.  How 
little  apprehension  of  his  own  weakness  had  that  man, 
as  he  boasted  of  his  attainments,  and  of  the  superi- 
ority of  his  piety !     How  different  from  his  neighbor 


310  THE    CHRISTIAN     PARADOX. 

the  Publican,   who   smote   upon  his  breast,  saying, 
"  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner." 

When  a  man  concerned  for  his  safety,  finds  that' 
he  cannot  rely  upon  himself,  he  will  naturally  look 
for  some  prop  on  which  to  stay  his  weakness.  When 
disease  has  seized  upon  us,  and  prostrated  our  sys- 
tem, how  natural  to  turn,  in  our  helplessness,  to  the 
friends  that  move  around  our  bed,  and  ask  of  them 
those  offices  of  kindness  which  their  strength  enables 
them  to  perform  !  Thus  it  is  with  us  under  a  sense 
of  our  spiritual  weakness ;  we  are  then  disposed  to 
call  upon  Him  who  is  able  to  hear  and  to  save.  So 
cried  Jonah  to  the  Lord  for  strength,  when  the  waters 
compassed  him  about,  and  he  went  down  to  the 
bottom  of  the  mountains  ;  so  prayed  Jehoshaphat  in 
the  pressure  of  his  straits,  "  We  have  no  might 
against  this  great  company  that  cometh  against  us, 
neither  know  we  what  to  do ;  but  our  eyes  are  upon 
thee." 

The  Christian,  apprehensive  of  his  weakness,  will 
not  rush  presumptuously  into  the  battle  with  his 
powerful  adversaries,  lest  he  fall  in  his  blood  and 
perish.  He  rather  hastens  to  call  upon  the  Captain 
of  his  salvation,  and  to  receive  from  him  that  whole 
armor  that  will  enable  him  to  stand  in  the  evil  day. 
This  is  one  of  the  grand  prerequisites  of  salvation,  a 
coming  to  the  throne  of  grace  under  a  sense  of  our 
necessities.  Prayer  is  the  first  natural  cry  of  faith. 
And  to  have  it,  and  not  exhibit  it  in  ardent,  earnest, 
supplication  to  him,  who  is  able  to  save  in  every  time 


THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX.  311 

of  need,  would  be  as  unnatural  as  for  a  hungry  child 
not  to  cry  to  the  parent  for  necessary  food.  What 
is  prayer,  but  the  voice  of  weakness  supplicating  the 
strong  for  strength  ?  "What  the  prayer  of  faith,  but 
the  lever  that  moves  the  arm  that  moves  the 
universe  ? 

In  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everlasting  strength  ;  and 
"they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength,  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles, 
they  shall  run,  and  not  be  weary,  and  they  shall 
walk,  and  not  faint."  The  babe  cannot  support  it- 
self, yet  it  is  not  abandoned.  Provision  is  made  for 
it  in  another,  and  what  its  little  hands  cannot,  its 
cries  and  tears  can  effect.  The  mother  has  but  to 
hear,  in  order  to  run,  and  to  relieve  and  to  indulge. 
Yet  even  she  may  forget,  or  prove  unkind,  or  un- 
natural. But  the  God  of  grace  never  forgets  the 
children  of  his  grace,  nor  says  to  the  seed  of  Jacob, 
"  Seek  ye  me  in  vain."  With  such  a  High  Priest  as 
ours,  that  has  passed  into  the  heavens,  we  can  come 
boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace  and  obtain  mercy, 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  every  time  of  need. 

3d.  Therefore  our  weakness  becomes  strength,  as  it 
encourages  and  animates  us  by  bringing  us  under  the 
certainty  of  the  divine  promise. 

Paul  besought  the  Lord  thrice  to  remove  the  thorn 
in  his  flesh ;  and  though  this  particular  request  was 
not  granted,  yet  the  blessing  contained  in  the  answer 
was  so  much  better,  beyond  conception,  than  he  ha(J 
hoped  or  expected,  that  gladly  does  he  bear  his  tribu- 


312  THE     CHRISTIAN    PARADOX. 

lation  and  rejoice  in  it.  And  you  hear  him  exclaim- 
ing, "  Most  gladly  therefore  will  I  rather  glory  in 
my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest 
upon  me."  Better  that  our  weakness  should  remain, 
if  we  are  upheld  by  the  strength  of  the  great  Re- 
deemer, than  to  be  removed,  and  we  puffed  up  with 
ideas  of  our  own  ability.  Better  to  live  in  appre- 
hension of  danger,  if  it  humbles  us  and  leads  us  to 
God,  than  to  feel  secure  if  it  makes  us  proud  and 
hio-h-minded.  He  that  is  hisrh-minded  should  fear, 
but  he  that  lies  low  need  fear  no  fall. 

Besides,  there  is  something  winning  and  endearing 
in  confidence.  Who  would  take  away  the  life  of  a 
bird  that  fled  to  his  bosom  from  the  talons  of  an 
eagle  ?  or  who  would  take  such  shameful  advantage 
of  his  confidence,  as  to  deprive  the  little  trembler 
even  of  his  liberty  ?  Nothing  is  ever  lost  by  trust- 
ing to  the  ingenuous  and  noble-minded.  They  always 
feel  the  responsibility,  and  will  repay  the  confidence. 
What  then  may  we  not  expect  from  the  God  of  all 
comfort,  whose  compassions  fail  not,  and  whose  liberal 
hand  is  ever  open  to  supply  all  our  wants  ?  "  He 
that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give 
us  all  things  ?"  "  0,  taste,"  then,  "and  see  that  the 
Lord  is  good :  blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
him.  0  fear  the  Lord,  ye  his  saints,  for  there  is  no 
want  to  them  that  fear  him.  The  young  lions  do 
lack,  and  suffer  hunger,  but  they  that  seek  the  Lord 
shall  not  want  any  good  thing." 


THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX.  313 

But  not  only  his  mercy  but  his  honor  is  concerned 
to  succor  those  who  rely  upon  him.  "  He  resisteth 
the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble."  "  He 
fiUeth  the  hungry  with  good  things,  but  the  rich  he 
sendeth  empty  away."  He  has  confirmed  the  immu- 
tability of  his  counsel  by  an  oath,  and  all  his  attri- 
butes are  pledged  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  gracious 
promises.  Having  loved  his  own  from  the  beginning 
he  will  love  them  unto  the  end.  Having  "  begun  a 
good  work  in  them,  he  will  perform  it  until  the  day 
of  Jesus  Christ." 

"His  honor  is  engaged  to  save 
The  meanest  of  his  sheep  ; 
All  that  his  heavenly  Father  gave, 
His  hands  securely  keep. 

*'  Nor  death  nor  hell  shall  e'er  remove 
His  favorites  from  his  breast ; 
In  the  dear  bosom  of  his  love, 
They  must  for  ever  rest." 

Therefore,  feeble  and  destitute  as  your  spiritual  con- 
dition may  be  by  nature,  you  need  not  fear  to  know 
it,  since  suitable  relief  of  every  kind  is  provided. 
This  apprehension  of  our  weakness  is  the  best  evi- 
dence of  prosperity,  and  there  can  be  no  better  or 
more  enviable  state  of  mind.  With  the  lowliest 
there  is  wisdom,  and  afiluence,  and  might.  "  For 
whosoever  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased,  and  he 
that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted."  It  was  when 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim  was  in  the  valley  of  humiliation, 

27 


314  THE     CHRISTIAN    PARADOX. 

contending  with  ApoUvon,  that  he  had  the  strongest 
perceptions  of  his  own  weakness,  and  yet  it  was  there 
that  he  gained  his  greatest  victory  over  the  adversary. 
For  his  lowliness  of  spirit  led  him  to  distrust  himself, 
and  to  call  for  succor  to  Him  who  was  able  to  uphold 
him. 

When  we  are  weak,  our  resources  are  not  future, 
but  immediate.  The  armor  is  at  hand  every  moment, 
and  the  Saviour  present  to  give  strength  to  wield  it. 
This  the  world  may  not  know,  for,  as  I  have  remarked 
before,  it  is  a  strange  paradox  to  be  weak  and  strong 
^at  the  same  time.  But  ye  know  it,  and  your  positive 
experience  is,  that  when  you  are  weakest  you  are 
strongest,  that  the  grace  of  God  is  sufficient  for  you, 
and  that  his  strength  is  made  perfect  in  your  \yeak- 
ness.  So  that,  with  Paul,  you  are  ready  to  glory 
even  in  your  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ 
may  rest  upon  you. 

Finally,  let  each  of  us  seek  to  understand  better 
this  Christian  paradox — that  weakness  is  strength. 
Let  us,  humbly  and  prayerfully,  cultivate  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  our  own  frailties  and  infirmities,  that 
we  may  rest  more  fully  upon  the  strength  of  God. 
Let  us  "be  careful  for  nothing,  but  in  everything, 
by  prayer  and  supplication,  with  thanksgiving,  make 
our  requests  known  unto  God.  And  the  peace  of 
God  which  passeth  all  understanding,  shall  keep  our 
hearts  and  minds  through  Christ  Jesus."  And  let 
us  not  look  to  the  world  for  either  help  or  comfort, 
nor  be  conformed  to  it  in  its  vain  maxims,  false  prin- 


THE     CHRISTIAN    PARADOX.  315 

ciples,  and  corrupt  practices.  0  let  us  remember  that, 
"  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  awaj."  It  passes 
like  some  grand  procession,  some  gorgeous  pageant, 
through  the  crowded  streets.  The  staring  crowd 
wait  the  appearance  with  eager  eyes,  and  place  them- 
selves in  the  most  convenient  posture  of  observation. 
They  gape  at  the  passing  show,  they  follow  it  with  a 
wondering  gaze,  and  now  it  is  past — and  now  it 
begins  to  look  dim  to  the  sight — and  now  it  disap- 
pears. Just  such  is  this  transitory  world.  Thus  it 
begins  to  attract  the  eager  gaze  of  mankind,  thus  it 
marches  by  in  swift  procession  from  before  our  eyes, 
to  meet  the  eyes  of  others,  and  thus  it  soon  vanishes 
away.  And  shall  we  always  be  stupidly  staring  upon 
this  empty  parade,  and  forget  the  world  of  substan- 
tial reality  to  which  we  are  hastening  ?  No  ;  let  us 
live  and  act  as  the  expectants  of  that  world,  and  use 
this  one  merely  as  a  state  of  discipline. 

"  The  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away."  0  that 
I  could  successfully  impress  this  exhortation  upon 
your  heart,  and  lead  you  to  break  off  your  over  fond 
attachment  for  the  world,  and  to  prepare  for  immor- 
tality. 0,  if  the  spirits  that  have  departed  could 
return  and  take  my  place,  would  they  not  with  united 
voice  call  you  to  prepare  for  eternity?  Ye  frail, 
short-lived,  mortals  !  Ye  near  neighbors  of  the  spirit 
land!  Ye  borderers  upon  heaven  or  hell,  loosen 
your  hearts  from  earth.  And  remember  this,  I  say, 
brethren,  with  confidence,  "  The  time  is  short.''  All 
its  schemes  of  affairs,  all  the  vain  parade,  the  idle 


316  THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX. 

force  of  life,  passeth  away.  And  away  let  it  pass, 
if  we  may  obtain  that  "better  country,  even  a 
heavenly" — 

**'  Where  the  rivers  of  pleasure  flow  o'er  the  bright  plains, 
And  the  noontide  of  glory  eternally  reigns  ; 
Where  the  saints  of  all  ages  in  harmony  meet, 
Their  Saviour  and  brethren  transported  to  greet ; 
Where  the  anthems  of  rapture  unceasingly  roll, 
And  the  smile  of  the  Lord  is  the  feast  of  the  soul," 

Some  of  us  may  be  on  the  borders  of  that  happy 
land.  Yet,  in  a  little  while,  and  the  tempter  shall 
cease  to  annoy  us ;  the  power  of  sin  shall  be  sub- 
dued ;  the  pains  and  sorrows  of  life  shall  be  over ; 
and  we  shall  be  for  ever  imparadised  in  the  bosom  of 
God  our  Saviour.  And  is  this,  indeed,  to  be  the 
case  ?  Are  these  days  of  temptation  and  warfare  so 
soon  to  close  ?  Is  that  last  fearful  conflict  to  end  in  such 
a  glorious  triumph  ?  Are  we  so  soon  to  gain  admission, 
through  the  pearly  gates,  into  that  holy  city,  whose 
dazzling  light  and  inexpressible  glory  are  God  and 
the  Lamb  ?  And  shall  not  the  prospect  fire  our 
hearts  ?  "And  that,  knowing  the  time,  that  now  it 
is  high  time  to  awake  out  of  sleep ;  for  now  is  our 
salvation  nearer  than  when  we  believed."  What! 
shall  we  sleep,  whilst  the  kind  angels  at  the  gate  are 
waiting  to  welcome  us  home  ?  Shall  we  sleep,  when 
we  are  so  soon  to  be  companions  of  prophets,  and 
apostles,  and  martyrs  ?  Shall  we  sleep  on  the  very 
threshold  of  glory  ?     At  the  very  reception  of  glit- 


THE     CHRISTIAN     PARADOX.  317 

tering  robes,  and  starry  crowns,  and  palms  of  vic- 
tory ?  Oh  no !  Let  us  awake.  Let  us  be  up  and 
doing.  Let  us  watch  and  pray.  Let  us  be  also 
ready  ;  for  in  such  an  hour  as  we  think  not  the  Son 
of  man  cometh.  Yea,  let  us  be  faithful  unto  death, 
and  we  shall  receive  an  unfading  crown  of  life. 


Let  me  but  hear  my  Saviour  say, 

"  Strength  shall  be  equal  to  thy  day," 

Then  I  rejoice  in  deep  distress. 
Leaning  on  all-sufficient  grace. 

I  glory  in  infirmity. 

That  Christ's  own  power  may  rest  on  me. 
When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong, 

Grace  is  my  shield,  and  Christ  my  song. 

I  can  do  all  things,  or  can  bear 

All  sufferings,  if  my  Lord  be  there  ; 

Sweet  pleasures  mingle  with  the  pains, 
While  his  own  hand  my  head  sustains. 


27* 


AN 


ADDRESS 


DELTVEEED  BEFORE  THE 


PHILO  AND  FRANKLIN  LITERARY  SOCIETIES, 


JEFFERSON   COLLEGE, 


THE  ANNUAL  COMMENCEMENT, 


AUGUST  5,  1851. 


ADDRESS, 


Gentlemen  of  the  Philo  and  Franklin  Lite- 
rary Societies  : — Deeply  sensible  of  the  honor  con- 
ferred upon  me  by  your  flattering  choice,  I  have  bid 
adieu,  for  a  little  season,  to  the  classic  groves  of  my 
own  mountain  academy,  and  the  younger  sons  of  sci- 
ence that  there  cluster  around  me,  to  mingle  in  scenes 
to  which  I  was  once  not  a  stranger,  to  look  again 
upon  venerable  forms  that  have  ever  held  a  cherished 
place  in  my  memory  and  my  heart,  and  to  address 
you  upon  subjects  befitting  the  place  and  the  occasion. 
Wanting,  as  I  feel  myself  to  be  in  many  of  those 
qualifications  necessary  to  constitute  the  interesting 
and  successful  speaker,  I  could  gladly  have  listened 
to  one,  more  capable  by  age,  experience,  and  exalted 
literary  attainments,  of  imparting  to  you  that  enter- 
tainment and  instruction  which  you  seek  from  the 
exercises  of  the  hour.  But  after  these  testimonials 
of  your  friendship,  as  unmerited  as  they  are  flatter- 
ing, I  should  be  lacking  in  courtesy  to  you,  and  re- 
spect to  myself,  were  I  to  refuse   contributing  my 


322      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

little  share  to  the  literary  festivities  of  this  auspicious 
day. 

More  than  half  a  century  since,  was  laid,  in  faith 
and  prayer,  the  foundation  of  a  collegiate  school,  on 
these  then  borders  of  civilization ;  heaven  smiled  pro- 
pitiously upon  the  enterprise,  and  "  the  little  one  has 
become  a  thousand."  The  rude  hut  in  which  the 
good  M'Millan  gathered  around  him  the  sons  of  those 
hardy  pioneers  who  had  carried  with  them  into  the 
wilderness  the  torch  of  science  and  the  lamp  of  truth, 
has  given  place  to  stately  halls,  where,  in  the  very 
centre  of  civilization  and  refinement,  congregated 
hundreds  imbibe  from  the  lips  of  instructors,  loved 
and  revered,  those  lessons  of  wisdom,  human  and 
heavenly,  which  teach  them  how  to  live  and  how  to 
die. 

The  men  who  planted  churches  and  academies  in 
the  very  footpath  of  the  receding  savage,  were  trans- 
mitting to  posterity  the  rich  legacy  they  themselves 
had  received  from  sainted  sires.  They  were  the 
worthy  descendants  of  that  elect  race  who  forsook 
the  beautiful  lochs  and  glens  of  their  own  Highland 
home,  to  rear  new  altars  upon  the  mouldering  ruins 
of  those  which  God  had  cursed — to  graft  their  stub- 
born thistle  upon  the  graceful  shamrock,  and  to 
mingle  the  wild  melodies  of  Erin's  harp  with  the 
sublime  strains  of  the  Hebrew  bard.  If  they  loved 
learning  and  liberty,  it  was  because  they  loved  reli- 
gion better;  and  whatever  is  peculiar  in  their  na- 
tional character,  or  that  of  their  descendants  in  this 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE     COVENANTERS.       323 

cisatlantic  world,  is  owing  to  the  simple  earnestness 
of  the  faith  thej  cherished, — a  faith  which  has  ever 
been  in  direct  antagonism  with  all  that  is  supersti- 
tious and  sensual  in  the  church  and  arbitrary  and 
tyrannical  in  the  state.  With  them  that  religious 
sense,  which,  after  all,  is  the  most  prominent  element 
in  our  common  humanity,  had  been  baptized  into  the 
spirit  of  a  pure  and  free  gospel,  and  necessarily 
worked  out  its  results  in  that  complete  emancipation 
of  the  mind  and  heart,  whose  best  and  most  enduring 
monuments  are  these  free  institutions  and  their  con- 
comitant blessings. 

And  here  are  we  to  look  for  the  motive  power  of 
the  world,  that  connate  religious  sense  which  man 
possesses.  It  is  the  great  formative  principle  of 
human  society,  underlying  and  running  through  all 
the  endless  varieties  of  national  character  that  pre- 
vail, giving  to  art  its  forms,  to  philosophy  its  argu- 
ments, and  to  law  and  government  their  sanctions. 
There  may  be  a  false  religion  and  a  mistaken  worship, 
a  religion  that  degrades  rather  than  elevates,  that 
embodies  within  it  the  essence  of  the  sensual,  rather 
than  the  spiritual.  Yet  it  does  not  disprove  the  na- 
tural foundation  of  the  principle,  and  its  perfect  ac- 
cordance with  the  general  sense  of  mankind. 

The  fountain  may  be  pure,  whilst  the  streams,  as 
they  recede  from  it,  may  receive  such  admixtures 
from  the  soil  through  which  they  flow,  as  highly  to 
sully  their  purity,  and  vitiate  their  taste.  God  is, — 
and  therefore  this  universal  feeling  of  veneration  and 


324        THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

reliance;  an  inward  sense  of  indigence  and  depen- 
dence has  written,  upon  the  fleshly  tablets  of  the 
human  heart,  an  argument  for  his  existence  and  pro- 
vidence which  can  never  be  wholly  erased.  The 
invisible  things  of  God  also  are  clearly  seen  from  the 
things  that  are  made.  The  evidences  of  his  wisdom 
and  his  power  are  seen  in  the  heavens  above,  and  the 
earth  beneath ;  they  shine  forth  in  every  star  that 
glitters  on  the  brow  of  night ;  they  are  read  by  the 
student  of  nature  in  the  mimic  worlds  of  microscopic 
life  that  reposes  on  the  leaflet,  or  sport  in  the  dew- 
drops.  This  is  the  strong  bond,  which,  amidst  every 
modification  of  custom  and  clime,  unites  man  to  the 
Deity ;  and,  in  the  reflex  tendency  of  the  spirit  that 
emanates  from  Him  to  terminate  upon  Him,  has 
created,  amidst  all  the  sophistries  and  absurdities  of 
a  false  worship,  for  the  Greek  his  Elysium,  for  the 
Mahomedan  his  paradise,  and  for  our  own  untutored 
Indian  his  hunting-ground  of  the  happy. 

But  not  only  in  its  purely  moral  sense  is  it  the  dis- 
tinguishing sentiment  of  the  race  ;  whatever  progress 
men  have  made  in  science,  in  art,  in  law,  and  in 
government,  has  been  owing  to  its  proper  cultivation 
and  development.  It  was  reverence  for  her  tutelar 
deities  that  erected  those  stupendous  pyramids  of 
Egypt,  that  stand  to  this  day  the  dumb  but  expres- 
sive record  of  the  power  of  her  shepherd  kings,  and 
the  unrivalled  skill  of  her  architects.  Degrading  as 
was  the  idolatry  and  gross  as  were  the  superstitions 
of  that  ancient  land, — yet  the  mighty  ruins  of  Carnac 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.       325 

and  of  Luxor,  sublime  even  in  their  desolation,  reveal 
some  of  the  loftiest  conceptions  of  the  human  mind. 
That  light  of  genius  and  that  wealth  of  art,  which 
look  down  upon  us  from  their  polished  and  richly 
carved  propylons,  carry  captive  our  senses  and  al- 
most tempt  us  to  overlook  the  superstition  in  which 
they  had  their  origin,  and  to  transfer  our  reverence 
from  the  sacred  Apis  and  fabulous  Busiris,  to  the 
gigantic  minds  that  conceived,  and  the  plastic  hands 
that  wrought  such  stupendous  wonders. 

If  we  pass  downward  to  Greece,  we  find  the  same 
strong  religious  sense  giving  birth  to  nationality  and 
life  to  art.  It  was  older  in  its  origin,  firmer  in  its 
hold  upon  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  Athenian,  than 
the  most  sublime  and  subtle  teachings  of  the  porch 
and  the  grove.  It  was  not  the  offspring  of  argument, 
nor  did  it  make  its  home  merely  in  the  reason,  but 
in  the  conscience.  Its  laws  were  written  by  the  finger 
of  the  "  Unknown  God"  upon  the  heart,  and  were 
therefore  destined  to  retain  their  force  unimpaired  by 
all  the  artful  disquisitions  of  Sophists  and  the  jargon 
of  Schools.  If  Greece  was  the  glory  and  wonder  of 
the  world,  she  was  made  so,  not  by  her  philosophy, 
but  her  religion.  Those  magnificent  monuments  of 
art,  which  prove  Athenian  taste  and  refinement,  were 
reared  to  perpetuate,  not  the  lessons  of  the  Academy, 
but  the  common  religious  sentiment  of  the  State.  It 
was  the  achievements,  not  of  Sages,  but  of  God,  that 
conceived  the  inimitable  frescoes,  and  richly-carved 
capitals  of  the  Parthenon,  and  that  gave  their  inspi- 
^  28 


326       THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

ration  to  the  chisel  of  Phidias,  and  the  pencil  of 
Praxiteles.  It  gave  birth  to  those  forms  of  art,  be- 
cause it  underlies  every  foundation  of  human  device, 
from  the  days  of  Cadmus  and  of  Cecrops,  and  it  had 
been  interwoven  with  all  their  political  and  social  rela- 
tions, and  become  a  bond  of  union  stronger  than  the 
wisest  decisions  or  the  most  stringent  enactments  of 
the  Amphictyon.  When  threatened  either  with  foreign 
invasion  or  social  dissension,  their  rallying  point  was 
around  the  pillared  fane,  where  the  oracle's  response 
was  the  signal  either  for  victory  or  defeat ;  their  last 
appeal  was  amidst  the  ascending  smoke  of  hecatombs 
to  Olympian  Jove; — their  last  defence  the  glittering 
aegis  of  the  blue-eyed  Minerva. 

And  thus  has  it  ever  been,  and  thus  will  it  ever  be. 
Religion  is  not  only  the  true  Promethean  fire,  which 
has  given  to  the  arts  and  sciences  their  vitality; 
"  political  society  also  moves  upon  its  axis ;"  and  the 
varied  features  of  national  and  social  character  that 
divide  the  race,  and  fix  more  certainly  than  walls  of 
adamant  could  do,  the  boundaries  of  kingdoms,  find 
their  type  in  the  faith  that  is  taught  at  the  mother's 
knee.  New  forms,  new  laws,  new  institutions  in  the 
state,  grow  out  of  preceding  religious  movements  in 
the  church.  A  poor  solitary  monk  in  the  dismal  cell 
of  his  monastery,  with  the  yearnings  of  a  heart  for 
more  substantial  food  than  missal  or  penance  ever 
gave,  reads  by  stealth,  as  if  it  were  a  crime  to  be 
punished  by  the  judge,  that  Bible  which  had  been 
left  to  moulder  amidst  idle  legends  and  absurd  tradi- 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.       327 

tions,  in  its  damp  recesses ; — and  lo !  that  cell  is 
illuminated  with  a  heavenly  light; — the  fetters  of 
darkness  that  had  bound  a  despairing  soul,  are  burst 
in  sunder.  Impelled  by  the  life  of  a  new  and  better 
faith,  the  intrepid  monk  goes  forth  to  preach  his 
heart's  experience  ;  and  the  chord  touched  in  his  own 
heart,  vibrates  in  a  thousand  others ;  the  bondmen 
of  "crown  and  crosier"  fling  aside  their  shackles, 
and  the  truth  which  began  its  conquest  in  the  cell  of 
an  obscure  German  monk,  has  at  length  worked  out 
its  results  in  a  "  church  without  a  bishop,  and  a  state 
without  a  king." 

If,  then,  in  the  language  of  another,  "  the  glory  of 
a  nation  is  in  its  God,"  if  a  people  have  a  tutelar  deity 
to  preside  over  their  destiny,  who  merits  the  homage  of 
the  mind  and  of  the  heart,  how  rich  the  legacy  trans- 
mitted to  us  in  this  land  of  the  setting  sun,  by  those 
who,  in  days  before  ours,  grappled  with  oppression, 
civil  and  ecclesiastical,  and,  amidst  agonies  unutte- 
rable, nurtured  that  plant  of  renown,  of  whose  plea- 
sant fruit  we  are  permitted  to  partake  !  "  Here,  for 
once,  has  arisen  a  people,  whose  source  and  first  life 
was  zeal  for  God,"  and  who  occupy  the  chief  place 
of  power  and  glory  amongst  the  nations,  because  He 
whose  praise  is  in  their  temples,  and  whose  word  is 
in  their  hands,  is  the  "Father  of  the  spirits  of  all 
flesh." 

The  God  of  our  fathers  is  our  God.  The  hopes 
that  nerved  them  to  do  and  suffer,  when  perse- 
cution had  lighted  the  fires  of  Smithfield,  and  filled 


328      THE     SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

the  dungeons  of  the  Tolbooth,  are  to  us  as  the  un- 
fading bow  of  promise,  and  inspire  us  with  new  and 
holier  zeal  in  our  crusades  against  the  despotisms 
of  the  world.  Whatever  of  glory  our  country  has 
achieved,  or  is  yet  destined  to  reach,  is  but  the  native 
growth  of  that  indomitable  spirit  with  which  the 
Puritan  and  the  Covenanter  did  battle  for  their  faith, 
when  the  hoarse  cry  of  the  panther  was  yet  heard 
on  your  hills,  and  the  footprints  of  the  savage  yet 
fresh  in  your  forests;  and  he  who  pretends  to  account 
for  our  free  institutions  and  our  peculiar  nationality, 
and  overlooks  this  fact,  evinces  a  mind  too  weak  and 
narrow  to  take  comprehensive  views  of  historic  truth, 
or  trace  effects  to  their  legitimate  causes.  If  the 
New  England  States  owe  their  present  elevated  posi- 
tion in  our  great  confederacy  to  the  Puritan  spirit  in 
which  they  were  founded,  our  own  great  State,  how- 
ever slow  we  may  have  been  to  acknowledge  it,  is  no 
less  indebted  for  whatever  is  praiseworthy  in  her 
social  and  political  condition,  to  that  manly ^  indepen- 
dent  spirit  of  Presbyterian  Scotland,  so  thoroughly 
inherited  by  our  revolutionary  fathers  and  transmitted 
to  us,  their  successors.  Those  principles  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom  embodied  in  the  Scottish  national 
Covenant,  for  which  they  who  subscribed  it,  and  their 
sons,  so  nobly  fought  against  a  perjured  king  and 
corrupt  Church,  are  infused  through  all  our  insti- 
tutions ;  they  are  the  life-blood  that  ramifies  through 
every  vein  and  artery  of  the  body  politic  and  social. 
For  almost  two  centuries  has  the  memory  of  these 


THE     SPIRIT     OF     THE     COVENANTERS.       329 

compatriots  of  Bruce  and  Wallace  been  given  up  to 
obloquy  and  reproach.  The  mildest  epithets  applied 
to  them  have  been  those  of  hypocrites  and  fanatics- 
They  have  been  charged  with  enmity  to  all  civil 
order,  and  denied  the  possession  of  every  elevating 
and  refining  sentiment,  and  to  defend  them  against 
the  infamous  attacks  of  the  puling  sycophants  of 
royalty  and  their  contemptible  imitators  in  our  own 
"model  republic,"  was,  until  lately,  to  place  one's 
self  under  the  ban  of  civilization,  and  to  be  regarded 
as  a  bigot  no  less  contemptible  than  those  whose 
cause  we  espoused. 

But  "the  memory  of  the  just"  shall  eventually  be 
blessed,  and  if  the  treasure  which  has  been  bought 
and  garnered  up  for  us  at  the  price  of  blood  is  worth 
possessing,  let  no  false  modesty,  no  fear  of  infidel 
splenetics  and  flaming  liberalists,  prevent  us  from 
doing  a  simple  act  of  justice  to  the  memory  of  men 
of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy.  We  admire  the 
disinterested  spirit  of  their  descendant,  which  led 
him  to  devote  his  life  to  the  grateful  task  of  furbish- 
ing up  their  gray  old  tombstones,  and  rechiselling 
those  records  of  their  departed  worth  which  time  and 
decay  bad  almost  efi'aced.  In  our  feeble  manner  we 
would  imitate  "Old  Mortality;"  we  would  inscribe 
fresh  testimonials  of  gratitude  on  their  monumental 
institutions  which  so  well  celebrate  their  deeds ;  and 
by  briefly  portraying  the  lofty  sublimity  of  those 

patriot  hearts,  who 

28* 


330      THE    SPIRIT    OF     THE     COVENANTEES. 

*'For  their  country  and  their  faith, 
Like  water  shed  their  blood," 

— a  sublimity  which  no  envy  can  reach  and  no  de- 
traction hide,  we  would  impress  you,  gentlemen,  with 
the  conviction,  that  the  only  glory  that  shall  outlive 
the  marble  and  the  brass,  is  that  which  is  achieved 
in  the  defence  of  truth  against  error,  and  of  freedom 
against  oppression. 

Never  had  calumny  whetted  its  shafts  so  keenly  as 
when  it  united  the  press  and  the  stage,  the  pulpit 
and  the  forum,  in  unholy  coalition  against  those 
apostles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Poetry  and 
eloquence  have  lent  their  numbers  and  their  fire  to 
hold  up  in  ludicrous  caricature  before  the  gaze  of 
posterity,  the  very  men  from  whom  it  has  received 
everything  that  is  pure  in  the  Church  and  free  in 
the  State.  In  the  simple  evangel  of  the  Son  of  God, 
whose  promises  were  his  daily  food,  the  Covenanter 
had  found  written  with  an  inspired  pen  the  "  great 
charter"  of  human  rights.  It  taught  him  more  ex- 
plicitly than  all  the  philosophy  of  the  schools,  his 
true  position  in  the  universe,  for,  in  defining  the 
nature  and  extent  of  his  subjection  to  the  powers 
that  be,  it  recogi^sed  his  direct  relation  to  that 
higher  law  which  proclaims  God  only  as  Lord  of  the 
conscience  ;  and  with  this  revelation  of  his  nature, 
dignity,  and  destiny  ever  in  his  eye,  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  he  would  tamely  submit  his  free  con- 
science to  the  dicta  of  blind  authority,  or  learn  "to 
swear  in  the  words  of  any  master." 


THE     SPIRIT     OF    THE     COVENANTERS.       331 

We  need  not  wonder,  then,  that  his  principles 
would  excite  the  hostility  of  tyrannic  princes  and 
their  parasites,  whose  interest  it  was,  if  possible,  to 
suppress  all  free  discussions,  and  to  toss  and  stretch 
upon  the  Procrustean  bed  of  uniformity,  creeds  as 
distinctive  in  their  features  as  were  the  respective 
nations  by  which  they  were  held.  His  offence,  in 
their  estimation,  was  never  to  be  forgotten  or  for- 
given. He  denied  the  truth  of  opinions  which  medi- 
eval superstition  and  ignorance  had  converted  into 
axioms  of  government.  He  flouted  at  the  divine 
right  of  kings  and  of  priests,  and  taught,  in  men's 
capacity  for  self-government  and  religious  liberty, 
treason,  which  made  him  an  outlaw  from  the  State  ; 
and  heresy,  that  rendered  him  an  apostate  from  the 
Church.  He  had  no  slavish  reverence  for  that  dim, 
religious  light,  that  came  streaming  from  the  past 
through  the  stained  oriel  of  the  cathedral,  but  with 
strong  faith  in  man's  progress,  and  the  Church's 
glorious  destiny,  he  labored  to  work  out  his  own 
salvation,  and  to  teach  others  that  liberty  of  Christ, 
without  which  they  remain  either  the  serfs  of  tyrants 
without,  or  the  slaves  of  their  own  blind  passions 
within.  Unlike  the  antagonistic  spirit  of  his  age,  he 
despised  the  mere  form  of  religion,  whilst  he  revered 
and  cherished  its  reality.  To  him  the  rubric,  the 
cope,  the  consecrated  ground,  the  dream-shaded  win- 
dow, were  nought ;  whilst  judgment  and  charity,  the 
law  and  love  of  God,  were  all.  He  repudiated  with 
disdain  the  senseless  fabrication  of  a  corrupt  church 


332      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

and  a  tyrannic  state,  that  *'  priests  and  kings  can  do 
no  wrong ^'  and  entered,  before  the  world,  his  solemn 
protest  against  that  assumption  of  arbitrary  power, 
which  impiously  claims  its  right  from  the  imposition 
of  apostolic  hands  and  the  broad  seal  of  heaven. 

We  are  no  man-worshipper ;  but  next  to  the  glory 
of  Him  whose  perfections  are  the  wonders  of  the  uni- 
verse and  the  song  of  saints,  we  revere  his  image 
wherever  it  appears ;  and,  in  despite  of  all  the  defa- 
mations of  that  toryism  which  would  convert  a  per- 
jured king  into  a  blessed  martyr,  and  a  narrow- 
minded,  mean-spirited  bigot  into  a  saint,  we  would 
do  honor  to  the  men  who,  when  prince  and  prelate 
combined  to  crush  every  rising  sentiment  of  freedom 
in  the  human  breast,  true  to  their  God  and  their  race, 
stood  in  the  imminent  deadly  breach,  and  achieved 
that  victory  of  right  over  might,  that  merits  the 
richest  blazonry  with  which  a  grateful  posterity  can 
adorn  them.  Never  had  Providence  appointed  men 
to  a  nobler  mission.  Never  had  a  nation  rallied  at 
a  more  stirring  watchword,  or  in  a  better  cause.  It 
was  no  Irish  farce,  with  Jesuitic  fingers  working  the 
wires,  and  playing  off  the  great  Milesian  for  a  harle- 
quin ;  no  senseless  Spanish  feud  of  Carlist  and  Chris- 
tine ;  no  superstitious  crusade  against  infidel  posses- 
sors ;  no  theophilanthropic  furor,  trampling  priestly 
robes  in  the  dust,  and  wrapping  its  spurious  goddess 
in  mantles  snatched  from  the  shoulders  of  the  Virgin; 
no  mob  of  the  "-profanum  vulgus"  run  demagogue- 
mad,  and  ready,  as  its  passions  take  a  turn,  to  burn 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.        333 

a  cliurch  or  sack  a  play-house.  Far  from  it ;  it  was 
the  struggle  of  devout,  heroic  men,  deeply  read  in 
the  Scriptures,  and  knowing  and  prizing  their  civil 
rights,  to  secure  for  themselves  and  to  transmit  to 
their  children,  the  priceless  blessing  of  a  pure  reli- 
gion and  a  free  state. 

It  is  a  strange  inconsistency  in  American  charac- 
ter, that  a  country  constituted  as  ours  is,  one  that 
had  its  origin  amidst  the  throes  of  a  revolution  whose 
results  are  so  beneficial,  should  be  so  slow  in  render- 
ing justice  to  the  correct  principles  and  heroic  deeds 
of  the  Scottish  martyrs. 

Separated,  as  we  are,  by  a  vast  expanse  of  sea 
from  the  pageants  of  courts  and  pomps  of  royalty, 
we  should  naturally  conclude  that  our  historic  and 
social  opinions  had  escaped  their  deadly  influence ; 
and  that  wedded  as  we  are  to  freedom,  we  would  be 
prompt  to  suspect  the  justice  and  veracity  of  those 
whose  chief  business  has  been  to  write  bitter  satires 
upon  the  acts,  and  to  make  merry  over  the  ordinary 
infirmities  of  its  friends  and  martyrs.  Their  very 
sublimity  of  character,  of  which  a  parallel  can 
scarcely  be  found  anywhere,  except  it  be  amongst 
the  illustrious  names  that  inspiration  has  rescued 
from  oblivion,  has  been  exposed  to  the  ridicule  of  the 
world  by  the  writers  of  pretended  history,  or  been 
served  up  as  a  savory  dish  wherewith  tory  novelists 
may  spice  their  courtly  romances,  and  render  them 
more  grateful  to  the  aristocratic  palates  of  those 
who  hold  the  rights  of  conscience  treason  against 
the  divine  right  of  kings. 


834      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

Need  we  wonder  then  that  their  deathless  names 
have  been  so  slow  in  finding  their  way  to  the  deepest 
reverence  of  American  Protestants  and  freemen, 
when,  until  recently,  we  have  been  looking  at  them 
through  the  false  and  distorted  medium  in  which 
rampant  Jacobites  and  heartless  infidels  have 
held  them  up  to  the  gaze  of  posterity.  What 
justice  can  a  Scotch  Presbyterian,  whose  only 
alternative  was  to  bow  submissive  to  decrees  which 
made  him  a  slave,  or  to  "  glorify  God  in  the 
Grass-market,"  expect  from  men  who  see  in  a 
perjured  king  a  martyr,  in  a  bigoted  priest  a  saint, 
in  an  apostate  and  traitor  a  patriot !  What  are 
Hamilton  and  Argyle  and  Warriston,  to  those  who 
sing  paeans  to  the  deeds  of  Charles,  and  Laud,  and 
Lauderdale,  and  to  whom  Lagg  and  Claverhouse, 
and  the  equally  infamous  Dalziel  were  models  of  all 
that  is  chivalric  in  the  field,  and  gentle  and  courteous 
in  the  saloon  ? 

How  untrue  to  our  own  principles — how  unjust  to 
the  memory  of  our  Scottish  fathers,  have  we  been  in 
yielding  to  these  weak  moods  of  malignancy ; — 
leaving  it  to  others,  and  to  those,  too,  in  whose  eyes 
crowns  and  mitres  shine  brighter  than  our  own 
emblematic  stars,  to  decide  for  us  great  questions 
involving  the  most  precious  rights  of  Christians  and 
of  freemen,  by  some  trifling  defect  or  ordinary  infir- 
mity of  our  common  nature,  and  to  condemn  to  the 
ridicule  of  centuries  men  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy,  because  they  were  not  Nazarites  either  by 
birth  or  by  vow,  and  sang  David's  Psalms  with  a 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.       335 

villanously  nasal  twang.  We  may  regret  that  they 
had  their  foibles,  and  who  has  them  not  ? — we  may 
regret  that  they  occasionally  fell  into  some  of  the 
vices  of  the  age  from  which  they  sought  deliverance. 
We  may  regret  that  any  of  them  lacked  that  refine- 
ment of  feeling  and  easy  good-breeding,  which  dis- 
tinguished the  high-toned  Cavaliers  that  clustered 
around  the  throne.  We  may  regret  that  some  of 
them  overstepped  the  bounds  of  propriety  and  ex- 
hibited a  heat,  an  irritation  of  spirit,  that  cannot  be 
always  justified.  -But  let  us  not  forget  the  fiery 
ordeal  through  which  they  were  passing ;  let  us  not 
forget  that  with  the  outlaw's  ban  upon  their  heads 
they  were  driven  from  their  homes,  and  hunted  as 
the  partridge  upon  the  mountains,  by  princes  in 
whose  honor  they  had  confided,  and  to  whose  sceptre 
they  had  been  loyal,  and  that,  merely  because  they 
chose  to  obey  God  rather  than  man,  in  things  which 
pertained  to  the  conscience  and  their  moral  duties. 
And  surely  no  American,  no  enlightened  friend  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty,  who  traces  his  present  high- 
born privileges  to  their  disinterested  struggles  and 
astonishing  perseverance,  can  be  so  unjust  to  their 
memories  as  to  seek  their  history  in  the  representa- 
tions of  a  licentious  press  and  stage,  or  permit  the 
lineaments  of  their  character  to  be  drawn  by  the 
satirists  and  dramatists  of  a  court,  whose  crowning 
excellency  was  to  revel  in  the  caresses  of  harlots, 
and  to  sink  the  prince  into  the  bufibon. 

They  were  sufferers — suff'erers  unjustly,  for  merely 


336      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

demanding  what  they  had  a  right  to  enjoy,  and  if 
they  ever  rose  in  resistance,  and  retaliated  upon 
traitors  and  apostates,  the  cruelties  they  had  inflicted 
upon  them,  we  must  remember  that  after  all  they 
were  but  men  of  like  passions  with  others,  and  that 
oppression  will  drive  even  wise  and  good  men  mad. 
Those  who  manifest  a  profound  respect  for  the  super- 
stitions of  time  and  place,  and  who  make  piety  to 
consist  in  the  administration  of  splendid  rites,  that 
carry  captive  the  senses  at  the  expense  of  the  heart, 
may  choose  their  historic  opinions  concerning  the 
Covenanters,  as  the  second  Charles  chose  his  reli- 
gion, because  it  was  more  suitable  for  a  gentleman. 
But  they  who  read  aright  the  manly,  earnest  Presby- 
terian heart  of  Scotland,  nurtured,  as  it  was,  amidst 
the  grandeur  of  lake,  and  glen,  and  mountain,  and 
moorland,  will  find  in  it  characteristics  that  assimi- 
late it  to  those  best  days  of  the  Church,  when  the 
beloved  John  was  its  minister,  and  the  faithful  Anti- 
pas  was  its  martyr.  In  whatever  light  tory  histo- 
rians and  genteel  novelists  may  regard  it,  its  deeds 
are  the  crowning  glory  of  true  heroism ;  its  princi- 
ples, that  salt  of  the  earth  which  has  preserved  it 
from  moral  putrefaction. 

The  men  who  disowned  regal  authority,  and  testi- 
fied and  contended  with  so  much  zeal  and  fortitude 
against  the  usurpation  of  Church  and  State,  were  the 
men  of  the  people.  They  girded  themselves  with 
deathless  resolve  for  a  momentous  struggle.  They 
demanded    the    ancient  landmarks,   which   ruthless 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE     COVENANTERS.       337 

tyranny  had  swept  away,  to  be  restored ;  they  de- 
manded their  rights,  immemorial  and  inherent,  which 
kingly  prerogative  had  encroached  upon,  to  be  gua- 
ranteed by  hostages  that  would  not  fail ;  and  in  the 
spirit  of  that  chosen  band,  whose  memory  every 
American  heart  cherishes,  they  pledged  their  lives, 
their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor,  in  defence  of 
those  priceless  blessings  which  the  God  of  nature  has 
given  to  man  as  his  unalienable  right.  They  assumed 
the  high  character  of  witnesses  for  God,  and  fear- 
lessly did  they  maintain  it,  until  their  martyr  spirit 
had  earned  its  reward,  and  the  race,  accursed  of  God 
and  man,  was  hurled  from  the  throne,  and  driven 
forth  to  wander  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  scorn 
and  contempt  of  the  nations.  Though  few  in  num- 
ber, "like  the  gleaning  of  grapes  after  a  vintage," 
they  lifted  up  the  fallen  standard  of  religious  liberty, 
and  generously  devoted  themselves  to  the  sacrifice, 
for  the  good  of  those  who  were  to  follow.  They 
would  swear  no  oaths, — take  no  tests, — submit  to  no 
impositions  upon  conscience.  Skulking  in  caves,  lan- 
guishing in  dungeons,  dying  upon  their  native  hea- 
ther, they  faltered  not  in  their  noble  purpose,  and  to 
every  command  of  unreserved  submission,  boldly  re- 
plied "that  all  was  not  lost  that  was  in  peril,  or  for- 
gotten that  was  delayed."  A  love  of  liberty  they 
considered  the  national  character,  which  it  was  their 
duty  to  maintain  and  transmit ;  a  resistance  to  tyrants, 
fidelity  to  God,  justified  by  the  law  of  nature  and  the 
precepts   of  revelation.     They  fell,  but  their  cause 

29 


338      THE    SPIEIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

survived;  their  blood,  like  the  teeth  of  the  fabled 
dragon,  had  produced  a  plentiful  harvest,  and  that 
banner-crj,  which  had  rallied  the  martyrs  of  liberty 
to  the  charge,  still  rung  its  stirring  echoes  through 
the  land. 

Whatever  difficulties  beset  their  transatlantic  vin- 
dicators, who  live  beneath  the  shadow  of  a  throne, 
and  who  would  be  regarded  as  most  loyal  subjects,  in 
justifying  their  rebellion,  there  are  none  to  us.  The 
people  who  refused  a  cent  for  tribute,  and  who,  rather 
than  submit  to  the  arbitrary  enactments  of  a  Parlia- 
ment that  denied  them  the  right  of  representation, 
unfurled  the  standard  of  rebellion  and  drove  out  the 
royal  viceroys, — they  and  their  descendants,  who  ap- 
prove their  acts,  would  not  have  hesitated,  under  the 
tyranny  of  the  Star-chamber,  to  have  been  fellow-regi- 
cides with  Bradshaw  and  Cromwell,  or  maddened  by  the 
scenes  of  the  Tolbooth  and  the  Grass-market,  to  have 
tried  upon  the  delicate  limbs  of  Lauderdale  his  own 
favorite  tortures  of  the  boot  and  screw.  We  have  no 
sympathies  for  royalty — no  veneration  for  the  sacred 
name  of  king ;  our  republican  associations  forbid 
them.  Trained  in  a  religion,  one  of  whose  many 
merits  is  its  simplicity  of  rite  and  form,  we  have  no 
predilection  for  that  hoary  church,  whose  external 
pomp  fascinated  the  senses,  and  excited  the  fancies 
rather  than  the  faith  of  the  worshipper.  We  are  not 
so  dazzled  by  the  blazonry  of  a  hereditary  nobility,  as 
to  hesitate  choosing  j^etween  the  stern  old  Cavaliers 
and  the  still  sterner  patriots  who  bade  defiance  to 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.      339 

kings  and  courts,  and  "wlio  felt  that  to  be  the  servants 
of  truth  and  the  rights  of  conscience  were  the  largest 
honor,  and  highest  glory  to  which  we  could  attain. 

The  very  earnestness  and  truthfulness  of  such  men, 
the  lofty  sublimity  of  the  position  which  they  assumed, 
became  an  enigma  to  those  whose  ideas  of  grandeur 
and  heroism  are  coupled  with  courts  and  cathedrals, 
the  blending  of  crown  and  mitre,  the  august  part  of 
priests  and  monarchs.  But  these  are  merely  the 
gray  old  monuments  of  an  age  that  is  passing  away ; 
the  emblems  of  a  despotism  whose  iron  yoke  we  spurn 
with  the  manly  independence  of  freemen,  "who  know 
their  rights,  and  knowing,  dare  maintain  them  ;"  and 
should  not,  therefore,  obscure  in  our  eyes  the  moral 
heroism  of  those  who  first  battled  for  the  right,  and 
taught  us  the  noble  lesson.  Justice  and  gratitude, 
every  pure  and  ennobling  sentiment  of  our  common 
humanity,  impel  us  to  rescue  their  memory  from  that 
oblivion  to  which  the  modern  admirers  of  feudal  laws 
and  medieval  canons  would  consign  them,  and  to  re- 
veal them  to  the  world,  like  the  elect  Benjamite,  in 
their  true  stature  and  towering  grandeur,  beyond  the 
reach  alike  of  detraction  and  praise.  If,  for  almost 
two  centuries,  they  have  been  lying  under  the  ban  of 
tories  and  churchmen,  the  reason  is  found  in  the  in- 
flexible logic  of  their  Bible  creed,  and  the  simple  ear- 
nestness of  their  evangelic  faith.  They  had  laughed 
to  scorn  the  Episcopal  grace,  and  refused  to  be  con- 
firmed by  the  Apostolic  hands  of  those  who  claimed 
kindred  with  the  mother  of  harlots  ;  and  all  else  went 


340      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

for  nought.  Their  sentence  of  excommunication  was 
pronounced ;  they  were  not  only  delivered  up  to  the 
uncovenanted  mercy  of  God,  but  over  into  the  hands 
of  princes  who  could,  when  needed,  unsheath  the  em- 
blematic sword,  and  become  most  gracious  "defen- 
ders of  the  faith."  In  the  language  of  the  inimitable 
Dogberry,  their  crimes  might  be  summed  up  in  one 
short  word  :  "  Thou  villain !  thou  art  full  of  all  piety, 
as  shall  be  proved  upon  thee  by  good  witnesses." 

A  piety  so  vital,  so  productive  of  self-denial  and 
stern  heroism,  is  unintelligible  to  those  whose  "  eyes 
are  holden."  They  have  no  confidence  in  themselves, 
because  the  light  that  is  in  them  is  darkness.  With 
their  own  supreme  littleness  and  selfishness,  the  mea- 
sure by  which  they  mete  the  greatness  and  the  good 
of  others,  without  true  philanthropic  feeling  them- 
selves, they  fancy  there  is  none  in  the  world,  and 
that  all  pretension  to  it  is  but  dissimulation  and  hy- 
pocrisy. Tried  by  such  false  tests,  the  Covenanter 
becomes  anything  his  enemies  may  desire  ;  the  more 
conspicuous  his  virtues,  the  more  profound  his  dis- 
simulation ;  the  more  blameless  his  life,  the  more 
cunning  his  arts  of  concealment.  We  can  but  pity 
such  blindness ;  we  can  but  commiserate  such  perver- 
sity of  mind,  as  leads  men  to  call  sweet  bitter,  and 
light  darkness.  They  whose  vision  is  bounded  by 
the  narrow  horizon  of  the  present  world,  can  have  no 
sympathy  with  him  to  whom  this  life  is  but  a  pilgrim- 
age ;  who  feels  himself  in  a  region  of  darkness  and 
shadows;  whose  home  is  in  that  pleasant  land  which 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.      341 

the  promises  reveal,  and  who,  disdaining  the  gross 
and  the  sensual,  feeds  upon  the  heavenly  manna,  and 
quenches  his  thirst  from  the  river  of  God. 

Yet  this,  which  has  exposed  him  to  ages  of  ridicule 
and  contempt,  is  often  all  the  secret  of  his  moral 
heroism.  He  was  the  possessor  of  an  inner  life,  the 
life  of  faith,  and  this  sustained  him,  whether  trampled 
on  in  the  fields  by  the  red  dragoons  of  Claverhouse, 
or  dragged  as  a  felon  to  attest  on  a  scaffold,  how 
dearly  he  loved  Christ's  crown  and  covenant.  He 
"  endured  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible."  He  may 
have  been  wanting  in  that  mere  wit  and  sentiment, 
so  highly  prized  in  literary  clubs  and  country  circles 
— for  worldly  wit  and  sentiment  have  but  little  in 
common  with  a  faith  whose  chief  element  is  its 
earnestness.  Yet  he  had  not  that  contempt  for  the 
imaginative  and  ideal  that  his  enemies  pretend.  He 
lived  in  a  world  of  his  own  creation, — a  world  more 
bright,  more  beautiful  than  Arcadian  bowers  or  Ely- 
sian  fields, — a  world  that  was  not  all  a  fancy  dream, 
for  faith  had  revealed  its  reality,  and  given  to  the 
rapturous  vision  of  the  exiled  apostle,  "  a  local  habi- 
tation and  a  name."  If  his  body  pressed  the  damp 
cave  or  the  loathsome  dungeon,  his  entranced  soul 
wandered  by  the  rivers  of  Beulah,  or  drank  in  the 
lingering  echoes  of  that  song,  that  is  ever  rolling 
down  from  the  far  off  city  of  God.  If  he  had  no 
taste  for  that  lighter  play  of  the  fancy  which  sports 
in  a  world  of  romance — he  was  by  that  very  fact 
driven  back  into  the  deeper  regions  of  feeling  and 

29* 


342      THE    SPIRIT    or    THE    COVENANTERS. 

imagination — if  he  closes  his  eyes  upon  earth,  it  was 
with  Milton  to  open  them  upon  scenes  where 

"Angels  trembled  -wMlstthey  gazed." 

Already  had  he  caught  glimpses  of  unutterable 
glory,  and  he  panted  with  all  the  ardor  of  awakened 
faith  and  hope  for  its  full  and  perfect  revelation.  If 
he  despised  the  distinctions  and  dignities  of  earth, 
it  was  because  he  was  the  heir  of  an  inheritance  such 
as  Plato,  with  all  his  wisdom,  never  dreamed  of,  and 
Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  never  equalled.  In  the 
beautiful  and  sublime  language  of  another, — "  upon 
the  rich  and  the  eloquent,  upon  the  nobles  and  priests, 
he  looked  with  contempt,  for  he  esteemed  himself 
rich  in  a  more  precious  treasure,  and  eloquent  in  a 
more  sublime  language ;  a  noble  by  the  right  of  an 
earlier  creation,  and  a  priest  by  the  imposition  of  a 
mightier  hand."  What  were  the  favors  of  courts, 
or  the  smiles  of  royalty,  to  him  who  was  destined, 
before  heaven  and  earth  had  been  created,  to  enjoy 
a  felicity  that  would  abide  when  heaven  and  earth 
shall  have  passed  away !  If  these  were  the  illusions 
of  fanaticism,  they  were  certainly  not  without  their 
type,  in  those  that  had  thrilled  the  harp  of  the  pro- 
phet and  moved  the  pen  of  the  Evangelist. 

But  I  shall  not  weary  your  patience  by  a  further 
vindication  of  these  illustrious  men,  who  commenced 
the  crusade  of  liberty  against  oppression,  and  who 
achieved,  even  in  their  fall,  victories  infinitely  more 


THE    SPIRIT     OF    THE    COVENANTERS.       343 

glorious,  and  more  beneficial  in  their  results  to  the 
world,  than  those  before  which  the  crescent  had  paled 
at  Ascalon  and  Acre.  But  we  owe  this  much  to 
justice,^o  pay  our  grateful  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
sainted  sires,  whose  blood  is  flowing  through  our 
veins.  If  Carthage  gloried  in  her  Phoenician  origin, 
and  Roman  bards  delighted  to  sing  how  the  gods  of 
Troy  had  left  Dardanian  ruins  to  place  their  shrines 
in  Latium,  it  is  with  no  less  pride  and  pleasure  that 
we  trace  the  stream  of  joyous  life  that  animates 
these  western  hills  and  vales,  back  to  the  pure  foun- 
tain of  "a  royal  priesthood  and  peculiar  people." 
We  shrink  not  from  making- the  broad  declaration, 
that  the  lever  which  has  moved  a  torpid  world  into 
action  and  compressed  ages  of  progress  into  a  single 
century,  is  the  spirit  of  the  Scottish  martyr.  It  was 
the  spirit  whose  mission  was  to  touch  the  heart's 
deepest  chord,  and  develope  the  intellect  in  its  true 
proportions.  It  is  the  spirit  that  has  made  that  sea- 
girt isle — whose  rude  barbarians  in  vain  resisted 
Rome's  legions,  in  her  Augustine  day — the  arbiter  of 
nations,  when  the  Forum  is  a  desert  and  the  Coliseum 
in  ruins ;  the  spirit  that  has  converted  this  western 
wilderness  into  a  fruitful  field,  reared  the  crowded  mart 
and  the  smiling  hamlet  upon  the  site  of  the  unbroken 
forest,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  churches  and  col- 
leges in  such  intimate  relation,  that  the  ministrations 
of  the  one  are  made  to  accompany  and  bear  upon  the 
instructions  of  the  other.  The  sons  of  those  whose 
battle-cry  was  for  "  Christ's  Crown  and  Covenant," 


344      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE     COVENANTERS. 

were  not  unworthy  of  their  fathers  ;  those  principles 
of  truth  and  freedom  that  had  unsheathed  the  sword 
at  Bothwell  and  the  Boyne,  were  carried  with  them 
into  the  wilderness,  were  taught  from  the  rude  pulpit 
where  your  fathers  worshipped,  and  mingled  with  the 
lessons  of  science,  which  dropped  from  the  lips  of  a 
Watson  and  M'Millan.  And  from  this  and  kindred 
institutions  planted  on  this  western  slope  of  our  own 
Alleghenies,  by  the  descendants  of  the  Covenanters, 
have  gone  forth,  and  shall  continue  to  go,  men  strong 
in  the  failh  of  God  and  human  nature,  ready  to  stand 
at  the  altars  of  the  one,  or  to  lay  a  moulding  hand 
upon  the  destiny  of  the  other. 

Greatly  as  the  Puritan  has  been  gloried,  and  we 
render  him  all  due  praise,  for  his  agency  in  moulding 
our  national  character,  we  protest  against  its  being 
exclusive.  Those  arts  of  war  and  peace  that  have 
given  our  country  her  present  sublime  position,  did 
not  all  arise  by  Plymouth's  Rock.  Loth  as  we  are 
to  disturb  the  self-complacency  of  our  American 
^^ celestials,''  who,  like  their  brethren  beyond  the  seas, 
imagine  they  are  the  people,  and  wisdom  will  die  with 
them,  we  cannot,  in  justice  to  those  whose  manly  and 
heroic  virtues  we  honor,  pluck  from  their  memories 
the  well-earned  fame  that  clusters  around  them,  or 
by  a  seeming  burial-service,  consign  their  illustrious 
deeds  to  the  "tomb  of  the  Capulets."  We  outside 
barbarians,  who  are  descended  from  the  Scot,  may 
certainly,  without  violating  historic  truth,  claim  for 
him  a  modest  share  in  contributing  the  formative  ele- 


THE     SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.       345 

ments  of  our  character,  and  laying  the  foundation  of 
our  national  greatness ;  though  dead,  he  yet  speaks 
through  those  who  bear  his  image,  and  whose  delight 
is  to  cherish  and  perpetuate  these  rights  of  a  free 
conscience  and  a  free  State,  for  which,  in  the  world's 
gloomy  hour,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  sacrifice. 

Whatever  of  toil  he  sustained,  or  glory  he  achieved 
in  his  struggle  for  freedom,  originated  in  the  repub- 
lican tendencies  of  his  Genevan  creed.  We  feel  no 
disposition  to  imitate  the  inconsistencies  of  those  who 
sing  posans  of  praise  to  the  Puritan,  and  yet  barter 
his  life-giving  faith  for  a  heartless  rationalism,  and 
lose  sight  of  his  steady  and  sincere  attachment  for 
law  and  order,  in  an  ungovernable  furor  for  change 
and  doubtful  reform.  If  the  salvation,  the  glory  of 
our  country,  is  its  pure  Christianity  inherited  from 
its  founders,  our  only  hope  of  perpetuating*  what  it 
has  already  gained  for  us,  is  in  cherishing  firm  faith 
in  its  principles,  and  a  consistent  practice  of  its  pre- 
cepts ;  and  to  you,  gentlemen,  these  sainted  dead, 
who  rest  from  their  world-renowned  labors,  speak  in 
every  monumental  pile,  which  their  faith  and  zeal 
have  reared,  to  falter  not  in  your  antagonism  to  that 
spirit  of  hoary  oppression  that  thrives  only  where 
intellects  are  dwarfed  from  lack  of  knowledge,  and 
souls  perish  for  lack  of  truth.  If  ye  would  not  be 
recreant  to  the  trust  which  after  long  agonies  has 
been  committed  to  you,  if  ye  would  not  be  traitors  to 
God  and  your  race,  let  the  religion  which  has  wrought 
out  your  deliverance  have  a  cherished  home  in  your 


346      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTEES. 

hearts,  and  never,  never  while  the  pulse  of  life  beats 
strong  in  your  veins,  permit  it  to  be  dragged  down 
from  its  celestial  height  and  trampled  by  the  foot  of 
the  scoffer  in  the  dust. 

Schools  and  academies  and  colleges  may  be  founded, 
but  unless  the  Church  is  by  their  side,  mingling  its 
heavenly  wisdom  with  the  teachings  of  science,  our 
republic  with  all  the  priceless  blessings  which  cluster 
around  its  free  and  happy  government  will  reel. 
Even  our  political  orators  announce  to  us,  as  one  of 
the  most  common  maxims  of  the  age,  that  a  pure 
morality  is  the  very  essence  of  freedom.  Our  eternal 
mountains  and  smiling  valleys  may  remain  until  the 
final  triumph ;  but  let  the  Sabbath  be  profaned,  let  the 
altar  of  God  be  abandoned,  let  the  creed  of  the  Puritan 
and  the  Covenanter  yield  to  the  wild  and  absurd  theo- 
ries of  the  modern  socialist  and  reformer,  and  we  may 
soon  write  Ichabod  on  all  our  noblest  institutions. 
We  have  been  learning,  in  the  events  that  have 
occurred  during  the  last  few  years,  that  knowledge, 
however  extensive  and  exalted,  unless  it  be  baptized 
in  the  fountain  of  pure  religion,  cannot  bring  order 
and  tranquillity  out  of  the  confused  chaos  of  revo- 
lution. 

We  bid  you  look  at  Europe  ;  we  ask  no  other  illus- 
tration than  boiling,  upheaving  France,  where  gigantic 
intellect  has  investigated  every  department  of  science, 
where  logic  has  reasoned  with  a  precision  unsurpassed, 
where  arts  have  flourished  in  perfection,  and  poetry 
and  eloquence  have  achieved  some  of  their  most  splen- 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE     COVENANTERS.      347 

did  victories  ;  but  where  no  Bible  has  taught  the  truth 
of  God, — where  men  are  mere  babes  in  all  that  know- 
ledge that  maketh  wise  unto  salvation.  Upon  what 
can  be  grounded  her  hope  of  success  in  her  present 
great  experiment,  when  she  lacks  the  only  balance- 
wheel  that  can  regulate  aright  the  movements  of  so- 
ciety ?  What  can  we  hope  for  a  people  who  hold  the 
laws  of  the  Most  High  in  the  same  contempt,  that 
they  do  the  statutes  of  the  monarch  they  hurled  from 
the  throne  ?  We  may  expect  them  either  to  degene- 
rate into  the  grossest  licentiousness  and  re-enact  the 
fearful  scenes  of  the  reign  of  terror,  or  by  ordinary 
reaction  submit  again  to  the  yoke  of  some  legitimist 
or  usurper.  It  is  as  true  of  nations  as  of  individuals, 
that  they  who  have  no  regard  for  the  authority  of 
God,  will  soon  lose  all  respect  for  the  laws  made  by 
their  fellow-men  ;  and  the  nation  that  will  trample 
under  foot  the  one,  may  soon  be  left  without  the  safe- 
guards of  the  other.  With  these  lessons  of  warning 
around  us,  let  no  motives  of  false  shame  tempt  us  to 
neglect  or  contemn  that  religion  which  leaves  the 
human  heart  unshackled,  and  flings  wide  the  portals 
of  God's  holy  temple  ;  nothing  but  this  will  hand 
down  to  the  generations  that  are  to  succeed  us,  the 
blessed  boon  for  which  strong  hearts  in  the  hour  of 
peril,  "  pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their 
sacred  honor." 

Into  your  hands,  gentlemen,  shall  we  soon  com- 
mit the  trust  received  from  revolutionary   fathers, 


348       THE     SPIRIT     OF    THE     COVENANTERS. 

whilst  we  go  the  way  of  all  the  earth,  and  upon  you, 
under  God,  does  it  depend,  whether  this  beautiful 
fabric  of  American  freedom  shall  stand  the  witness 
and  the  pledge  of  man's  ability  for  self-government, 
or  sink  amidst  the  sneers  of  despots  and  the  tears  of 
patriots,  a  melancholy  monument  of  human  frailty. 
To  you  are  the  nations  to  look  for  the  science  of 
self-government ;  to  you  for  that  religion  that  is  to 
curb  their  licentious  passions,  and  mould  into  order 
their  lawless  minds.  Remember  that  no  man  liveth 
for  himself;  he  liveth  for  God,  his  country,  and  his 
race,  and  he  who  ignobly  forgets  it  or  selfishly  cuts 
asunder  the  tie  that  binds  him  to  his  fellows,  in  the 
curse  that  he  brings  upon  himself  and  others, 

"Living,  shall  forfeit  all  renown  ; 
And  doubly  dying,  shall  go  down 
To  the  vile  dust  from  whence  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unhonored,  and  unsung." 

With  some  whom  I  address  the  labors  and  plea- 
sures of  a  college  life  are  about  to  close.  The 
point  which  seemed  so  distant  at  the  start  is  at 
length  reached,  and  the  quiet  walks  of  the  Academy, 
with  all  the  hallowed  associations  that  cluster  around 
them,  are  now  to  give  place  to  other  relations,  to  other 
duties,  and  to  other  scenes.  The  studies  of  the  reci- 
tation-room, and  that  generous  strife  of  intellect 
which  has  so  often  gathered  you  in  your  proud  old 
halls,  were  but  means  to  accomplish  an  end.     That 


THE     SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS.      349 

end  is  gained,  and  with  armor  bright  and  burnished, 
and  ready  for  the  conflict,  you  are  now  to  bid  adieu 
to  these  groves  of  Academus,  with  the  truth  you  here 
garnered  up,  and  throw  yourselves  into  that  wild, 
tumultuous  arena,  where  you  must  save  yourselves 
by  earnest,  manly  action,  kept  up  to  the  last,  or 
perish.  It  is  a  great  thing  in  any  age  to  understand 
the  opportunities  and  wants  of  life,  or  to  be  true  to 
its  responsibilities  ;  and  to  you,  in  view  of  the  espe- 
cial character  of  the  period  in  which  you  live,  it  is  a 
precious  probation,  for  it  has  connected  with  it  issues 
unutterably  momentous  and  solemn.  We  are  in  all 
probability  approaching  a  new  epoch  in  the  annals 
of  the  race.  The  great  deep  of  human  society  is 
broken  up,  and  the  world  travails  in  birth  with  some 
mighty  new  creation.  No  serious  mind  can  contem- 
plate the  signs  of  the  time,  and  not  be  satisfied  that 
Providence  is  working  out  some  of  its  grandest  pro- 
blems, and  that  the  unwritten  history  of  the  world 
is  pregnant  with  events  as  interesting  and  as  thrilling 
as  any  that  have  ever  been  marked  by  the  finger  of 
the  Almighty.  Already  has  the  political  sea  of  Eu- 
rope been  wildly  agitated,  nor  have  our  own  peaceful 
borders  escaped  the  dashings  of  its  tumultuous  waves; 
and,  though  human  sagacity  may  not  foresee  all  the 
consequences  that  may  grow  out  of  these  political 
and  social  agitations,  yet  none  can  doubt  they  are 
giving  an  impulse  to  the  great  ocean  of  human  mind 
that  shall  be  felt  for  ever  through  all  its  profoundest 

30 


350      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

depths :  and  upon  ih'is  m\d,  tempestuous  sea  is  the 
voyage  of  life  to  be  made  ;  amongst  opposing  rocks 
and  dangerous  quicksands,  your  passage  is  to  be 
steered,  if  you  would  reach  a  happy  destination.  To 
guide  you  safely  across  it,  we  have  held  up  before 
you  the  beacon  lights  of  the  past.  We  have  pointed 
you  for  imitation  to  the  illustrious  examples  of  our 
covenanting  fathers,  who  through  faith  wrought 
righteousness,  and  subdued  kingdoms.  Like  a  mighty 
cloud  of  witnesses,  they  gather  around  you,  and  urge 
you  onward  by  every  motive  that  can  animate  a 
brave  and  noble  heart,  to  that  meed  of  immortality 
with  which  their  deeds  are  crowned. 

But  we  would  be  recreant  to  our  high  trust  as  an 
ambassador  of  God,  and  wanting  in  affection  to  you, 
did  we  not  most  earnestly  recommend  to  you,  in  this 
perilous  voyage  of  human  probation,  that  chart  and 
compass  of  heavenly  origin,  without  which  your  frail 
vessels  of  human  existence  must  drift  on  unplloted 
and  uncared  for,  until  they  have  met  the  shock  of 
the  horrible  tempest,  and  have  sunk  hapless  and  help- 
less wrecks.  Remember  that  they  only  whom  God 
guides  are  well  guided.  High  above  the  wild  com- 
motions of  this  troubled  sea  of  life  is  there  a  pavilion 
in  which  you  can  hide  and  be  safe  until  every  cala- 
mity be  wholly  overpast.  Winds  and  waves  and 
human  hearts  are  in  God's  hands,  and  when  his  pur- 
poses have  been  accomplished  by  their  blind  and 
impetuous  fury,  they  shall  sink  to  rest  at  his  bidding. 


THE     SPIRIT     OF    THE     COVENANTEES.       351 

*'  His  hand  the  good  man  fastens  on  the  skies, 
And  bids  earth  roll,  nor  feels  the  idle  whirl." 

If,  then,  young  gentlemen,  you  value  your  coun- 
try's honor  and  the  welfare  of  your  race, — nay,  if 
you  would  seek  individual  usefulness  and  happiness, 
— seek  them  not  only  in  the  acknowledged  blessings 
of  science,  but  in  the  cultivation  of  a  morality  whose 
purity  is  unsullied,  in  the  possession  of  a  religion 
whose  reward  is  immortality.  These  can  gratify  the 
desires  of  the  largest  and  most  grasping  ambition, 
and  inscribe  your  name  with  that  of  the  Puritan  and 
the  Covenanter,  on  a  tablet  more  enduring  than  the 
sculptured  marble,  or  the  monumental  brass.  If 
ever,  in  generations  hence,  your  names  shall  flash 
through  the  mists  of  antiquity,  it  will  be  because, 
like  the  illustrious  men  of  Scottish  history,  you  sought 
the  happiness  rather  than  the  glory  of  your  race, 
because  you  linked  your  memory  with  those  moral 
revolutions,  whose  tendency  is  to  brighten  it  here, 
and  to  prepare  you  for  a  splendid  destiny  hereafter. 

And  whether  you  return  to  these  consecrated  halls 
or  tread  them  no  more,  may  the  lessons  of  wisdom, 
human  and  divine,  received  from  the  lips  of  those 
who  love  you,  and  whose  prayer  shall  follow  you,  be 
not  forgotten ;  may  that  light  which  shines  from 
above  illuminate  all  your  pathway  through  the  world, 
and  when  the  hearts  that  are  now  beating  high  with 
health  and  hope  shall  have  ceased  their  throbbings 
in  the  quiet  of  the   tomb,  may  you  rise  amidst  the 


352      THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    COVENANTERS. 

joyful  acclamations  of  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servants,"  to  take  your  places  amongst  the  first-born 
members  of  that  happy  household  whose  gathering 
song  is  love,  and  whose  harp-strings  never  vibrate  to 
a  requiem. 


THE    END. 


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